Method and apparatus for determining availability of resource in wireless communication system

ABSTRACT

The disclosure proposes a resource determination method performed by a communication node in a wireless communication system and a communication node using the method. The method may be a method performed for an IAB system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(e), this application is a continuation ofInternational Application PCT/KR2020/000561, with an internationalfiling date of Jan. 13, 2020, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Nos. 62/791,107 filed on Jan. 11, 2019,62/806,050 filed on Feb. 15, 2019, KR Provisional Application Nos.10-2019-0010091 filed on Jan. 25, 2019, and 10-2019-0037364 filed onMar. 29, 2019, the contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUNDS Field of the Description

The disclosure relates to wireless communication.

Related Art

As a growing number of communication devices require highercommunication capacity, there is a need for advanced mobile broadbandcommunication as compared to existing radio access technology (RAT).Massive machine-type communication (MTC), which provides a variety ofservices anytime and anywhere by connecting a plurality of devices and aplurality of objects, is also one major issue to be considered innext-generation communication. In addition, designs for communicationsystems considering services or user equipments (UEs) sensitive toreliability and latency are under discussion. Introduction ofnext-generation RAT considering enhanced mobile broadband communication,massive MTC, and ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC) isunder discussion. In the disclosure, for convenience of description,this technology may be referred to as new RAT or new radio (NR).

One potential technology intended to enable future cellular networkdeployment scenarios and applications is supporting wireless backhauland relay links, which enables a flexible and highly dense deployment ofNR cells without needing to proportionally densify a transport network.It allows for flexible and very dense deployment.

With massive MIMO or a native deployment of multi-beam system, a greaterbandwidth (e.g., mmWave spectrum) is expected to be available in NR thanin LTE, and thus occasions for the development and deployment ofintegrated access and backhaul links arise. This allows an easydeployment of a dense network of self-backhauled NR cells in anintegrated manner by establishing a plurality of control and datachannels/procedures defined to provide connection or access to UEs. Thissystem is referred to as an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) link.

An IAB system may include a plurality of base stations and/or UEs, andmethods of configuring or allocating resources for efficienttransmission and reception between nodes and/or between a node and a UEare under discussion.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the disclosure is to provide a method and an apparatus foroperating a communication node in a wireless communication system.

The disclosure provides an operating method of a communication node on aDU soft resource and methods related to priority determination of adynamic MT configuration, data transmission on a DU resource in view ofa priority, SSB transmission for an access user equipment (UE), SSBtransmission for backhaul discovery/measurement, discovery/measurementof neighboring nodes, and a measurement gap for an IAB node.

According to the disclosure, there is provided a resource configurationdetermination method for efficient communication between IAB nodesand/or UEs in an IAB system. Accordingly, when there is a conflictbetween a plurality of configurations, an IAB node may autonomouslyselect one configuration without waiting for a new configuration, thusperforming communication. Therefore, overall throughput andcommunication efficiency of the IAB system may be increased.

Effects obtained through specific examples of this specification are notlimited to the foregoing effects. For example, there may be a variety oftechnical effects that a person having ordinary skill in the related artcan understand or derive from this specification. Accordingly, specificeffects of the disclosure are not limited to those explicitly indicatedherein but may include various effects that may be understood or derivedfrom technical features of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a wireless communication system to which the presentdisclosure may be applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a wireless protocol architecture for a userplane.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a wireless protocol architecture for acontrol plane.

FIG. 4 illustrates a system structure of a next generation radio accessnetwork (NG-RAN) to which NR is applied.

FIG. 5 illustrates a functional division between an NG-RAN and a 5GC.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a frame structure that may be appliedin NR.

FIG. 7 illustrates CORESET.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a difference between a related artcontrol region and the CORESET in NR.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a frame structure for new radio accesstechnology.

FIG. 10 is an abstract schematic diagram illustrating hybrid beamformingfrom the viewpoint of TXRUs and physical antennas.

FIG. 11 illustrates the beam sweeping operation for a synchronizationsignal and system information in a downlink (DL) transmission procedure.

FIG. 12 shows examples of 5G usage scenarios to which the technicalfeatures of the present disclosure can be applied.

FIG. 13 schematically illustrates an example of a network having anintegrated access and backhaul (IAB) link.

FIG. 14 schematically illustrates an example of the configuration ofaccess and backhaul links.

FIG. 15 illustrates a link and relationship between IAB nodes.

FIG. 16 illustrates physical channels and general signal transmissionused in a 3GPP system.

FIG. 17 illustrates an MT configuration and a DU configuration.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a communication methodperformed by an IAB node according to some embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of a communication method performed by anIAB node according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method fordetermining the availability of a resource performed by an IAB nodeaccording to some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 21 schematically illustrates an example of applying a method fordetermining the availability of a resource performed by an IAB nodeaccording to some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 22 illustrates a method for configuring a resource for an operationof discovering/measuring an IAB node according to some embodiments ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 23 schematically illustrates an example of case 1 where some ofresources configured to transmit an SSB according to the STC areconfigured to perform an operation of discovering and/or measuring aneighboring IAB node according to the SMTC.

FIG. 24 schematically illustrates an example of case 2 where some ofresources configured to perform an operation of discovering and/ormeasuring a neighboring IAB node according to the SMTC are configured totransmit an SSB according to the STC.

FIG. 25 illustrates a communication system 1 applied to the disclosure.

FIG. 26 illustrates a wireless device that is applicable to thedisclosure.

FIG. 27 illustrates a signal processing circuit for a transmissionsignal.

FIG. 28 illustrates another example of a wireless device applied to thedisclosure.

FIG. 29 illustrates a hand-held device applied to the disclosure.

FIG. 30 illustrates a vehicle or an autonomous driving vehicle appliedto the disclosure.

FIG. 31 illustrates an AI device applied to the disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

As used herein, “A or B” may mean “only A”, “only B”, or “both A and B”.That is, “A or B” may be interpreted as “A and/or B” herein. Forexample, “A, B or C” may mean “only A”, “only B”, “only C”, or “anycombination of A, B, and C”.

As used herein, a slash (/) or a comma (,) may mean “and/or”. Forexample, “A/B” may mean “A and/or B”. Therefore, “A/B” may include “onlyA”, “only B”, or “both A and B”. For example, “A, B, C” may mean “A, B,or C”.

As used herein, “at least one of A and B” may mean “only A”, “only B”,or “both A and B”. Further, as used herein, “at least one of A or B” or“at least one of A and/or B” may be interpreted equally as “at least oneof A and B”.

As used herein, “at least one of A, B, and C” may mean “only A”, “onlyB”, “only C”, or “any combination of A, B, and C”. Further, “at leastone of A, B, or C” or “at least one of A, B, and/or C” may mean “atleast one of A, B, and C”.

As used herein, parentheses may mean “for example”. For instance, theexpression “control information (PDCCH)” may mean that a PDCCH isproposed as an example of control information. That is, controlinformation is not limited to a PDCCH, but a PDCCH is proposed as anexample of control information. Further, the expression “controlinformation (i.e., a PDCCH)” may also mean that a PDCCH is proposed asan example of control information.

Technical features that are separately described in one drawing may beimplemented separately or may be implemented simultaneously.

FIG. 1 shows a wireless communication system to which the presentdisclosure may be applied. The wireless communication system may bereferred to as an Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network(E-UTRAN) or a Long Term Evolution (LTE)/LTE-A system.

The E-UTRAN includes at least one base station (BS) 20 which provides acontrol plane and a user plane to a user equipment (UE) 10. The UE 10may be fixed or mobile, and may be referred to as another terminology,such as a mobile station (MS), a user terminal (UT), a subscriberstation (SS), a mobile terminal (MT), a wireless device, etc. The BS 20is generally a fixed station that communicates with the UE 10 and may bereferred to as another terminology, such as an evolved node-B (eNB), abase transceiver system (BTS), an access point, etc.

The BSs 20 are interconnected by means of an X2 interface. The BSs 20are also connected by means of an S1 interface to an evolved packet core(EPC) 30, more specifically, to a mobility management entity (MME)through S1-MME and to a serving gateway (S-GW) through S1-U.

The EPC 30 includes an MME, an S-GW, and a packet data network-gateway(P-GW). The MME has access information of the UE or capabilityinformation of the UE, and such information is generally used formobility management of the UE. The S-GW is a gateway having an E-UTRANas an end point. The P-GW is a gateway having a PDN as an end point.

Layers of a radio interface protocol between the UE and the network canbe classified into a first layer (L1), a second layer (L2), and a thirdlayer (L3) based on the lower three layers of the open systeminterconnection (OSI) model that is well-known in the communicationsystem. Among them, a physical (PHY) layer belonging to the first layerprovides an information transfer service by using a physical channel,and a radio resource control (RRC) layer belonging to the third layerserves to control a radio resource between the UE and the network. Forthis, the RRC layer exchanges an RRC message between the UE and the BS.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a wireless protocol architecture for a userplane. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a wireless protocol architecture fora control plane. The user plane is a protocol stack for user datatransmission. The control plane is a protocol stack for control signaltransmission.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a PHY layer provides an upper layer with aninformation transfer service through a physical channel. The PHY layeris connected to a medium access control (MAC) layer which is an upperlayer of the PHY layer through a transport channel. Data is transferredbetween the MAC layer and the PHY layer through the transport channel.The transport channel is classified according to how and with whatcharacteristics data is transferred through a radio interface.

Data is moved between different PHY layers, that is, the PHY layers of atransmitter and a receiver, through a physical channel. The physicalchannel may be modulated according to an Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiplexing (OFDM) scheme, and use the time and frequency as radioresources.

The functions of the MAC layer include mapping between a logical channeland a transport channel and multiplexing and demultiplexing to atransport block that is provided through a physical channel on thetransport channel of a MAC Service Data Unit (SDU) that belongs to alogical channel. The MAC layer provides service to a Radio Link Control(RLC) layer through the logical channel.

The functions of the RLC layer include the concatenation, segmentation,and reassembly of an RLC SDU. In order to guarantee various types ofQuality of Service (QoS) required by a Radio Bearer (RB), the RLC layerprovides three types of operation mode: Transparent Mode (TM),Unacknowledged Mode (UM), and Acknowledged Mode (AM). AM RLC provideserror correction through an Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ).

The RRC layer is defined only on the control plane. The RRC layer isrelated to the configuration, reconfiguration, and release of radiobearers, and is responsible for control of logical channels, transportchannels, and PHY channels. An RB means a logical route that is providedby the first layer (PHY layer) and the second layers (MAC layer, the RLClayer, and the PDCP layer) in order to transfer data between UE and anetwork.

The function of a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer on theuser plane includes the transfer of user data and header compression andciphering. The function of the PDCP layer on the user plane furtherincludes the transfer and encryption/integrity protection of controlplane data.

What an RB is configured means a process of defining the characteristicsof a wireless protocol layer and channels in order to provide specificservice and configuring each detailed parameter and operating method. AnRB can be divided into two types of a Signaling RB (SRB) and a Data RB(DRB). The SRB is used as a passage through which an RRC message istransmitted on the control plane, and the DRB is used as a passagethrough which user data is transmitted on the user plane.

If RRC connection is established between the RRC layer of UE and the RRClayer of an E-UTRAN, the UE is in the RRC connected state. If not, theUE is in the RRC idle state.

A downlink transport channel through which data is transmitted from anetwork to UE includes a broadcast channel (BCH) through which systeminformation is transmitted and a downlink shared channel (SCH) throughwhich user traffic or control messages are transmitted. Traffic or acontrol message for downlink multicast or broadcast service may betransmitted through the downlink SCH, or may be transmitted through anadditional downlink multicast channel (MCH). Meanwhile, an uplinktransport channel through which data is transmitted from UE to a networkincludes a random access channel (RACH) through which an initial controlmessage is transmitted and an uplink shared channel (SCH) through whichuser traffic or control messages are transmitted.

Logical channels that are placed over the transport channel and that aremapped to the transport channel include a broadcast control channel(BCCH), a paging control channel (PCCH), a common control channel(CCCH), a multicast control channel (MCCH), and a multicast trafficchannel (MTCH).

The physical channel includes several OFDM symbols in the time domainand several subcarriers in the frequency domain. One subframe includes aplurality of OFDM symbols in the time domain. An RB is a resourcesallocation unit, and includes a plurality of OFDM symbols and aplurality of subcarriers. Furthermore, each subframe may use specificsubcarriers of specific OFDM symbols (e.g., the first OFDM symbol) ofthe corresponding subframe for a physical downlink control channel(PDCCH), that is, an L1/L2 control channel. A Transmission Time Interval(TTI) is a unit time for subframe transmission.

Hereinafter, a new radio access technology (new RAT, NR) will bedescribed.

As more and more communication devices require more communicationcapacity, there is a need for improved mobile broadband communicationover existing radio access technology. Also, massive machine typecommunications (MTC), which provides various services by connecting manydevices and objects, is one of the major issues to be considered in thenext generation communication. In addition, communication system designconsidering reliability/latency sensitive service/UE is being discussed.The introduction of next generation radio access technology consideringenhanced mobile broadband communication (eMBB), massive MTC (mMTC),ultrareliable and low latency communication (URLLC) is discussed. Thisnew technology may be called new radio access technology (new RAT or NR)in the present disclosure for convenience.

FIG. 4 illustrates a system structure of a next generation radio accessnetwork (NG-RAN) to which NR is applied.

Referring to FIG. 4, the NG-RAN may include a gNB and/or an eNB thatprovides user plane and control plane protocol termination to aterminal. FIG. 4 illustrates the case of including only gNBs. The gNBand the eNB are connected by an Xn interface. The gNB and the eNB areconnected to a 5G core network (5GC) via an NG interface. Morespecifically, the gNB and the eNB are connected to an access andmobility management function (AMF) via an NG-C interface and connectedto a user plane function (UPF) via an NG-U interface.

FIG. 5 illustrates a functional division between an NG-RAN and a 5GC.

The gNB may provide functions such as an inter-cell radio resourcemanagement (Inter Cell RRM), radio bearer management (RB control),connection mobility control, radio admission control, measurementconfiguration & provision, dynamic resource allocation, and the like.The AMF may provide functions such as NAS security, idle state mobilityhandling, and so on. The UPF may provide functions such as mobilityanchoring, PDU processing, and the like. The SMF may provide functionssuch as UE IP address assignment, PDU session control, and so on.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a frame structure that may be appliedin NR.

Referring to FIG. 6, a frame may be composed of 10 milliseconds (ms) andinclude 10 subframes each composed of 1 ms.

One or a plurality of slots may be included in a subframe according tosubcarrier spacings.

The following table 1 illustrates a subcarrier spacing configuration μ.

TABLE 1 μ Δf = 2^(μ) · 15[kHz] Cyclic prefix 0 15 Normal 1 30 Normal 260 Normal Extended 3 120 Normal 4 240 Normal

The following table 2 illustrates the number of slots in a frame(N^(frame,μ) _(slot)), the number of slots in a subframe (N^(subframe,μ)_(slot)), the number of symbols in a slot (N^(slot) _(symb)), and thelike, according to subcarrier spacing configurations.

TABLE 2 μ N_(symb) ^(slot) N_(slot) ^(frame, μ) N_(slot) ^(subframe, μ)0 14 10 1 1 14 20 2 2 14 40 4 3 14 80 8 4 14 160 16

In FIG. 6, μ=0, 1, 2 is illustrated.

A physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) may include one or morecontrol channel elements (CCEs) as illustrated in the following table 3.

TABLE 3 Aggregation level Number of CCEs 1 1 2 2 4 4 8 8 16 16

That is, the PDCCH may be transmitted through a resource including 1, 2,4, 8, or 16 CCEs. Here, the CCE includes six resource element groups(REGs), and one REG includes one resource block in a frequency domainand one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol in atime domain.

Meanwhile, in a future wireless communication system, a new unit calleda control resource set (CORESET) may be introduced. The terminal mayreceive the PDCCH in the CORESET.

FIG. 7 illustrates CORESET.

Referring to FIG. 7, the CORESET includes N^(CORESET) _(RB) number ofresource blocks in the frequency domain, and N^(CORESET) _(symb)∈{1, 2,3} number of symbols in the time domain. N^(CORESET) _(RB) andN^(CORESET) _(symb) may be provided by a base station via higher layersignaling. As illustrated in FIG. 7, a plurality of CCEs (or REGs) maybe included in the CORESET.

The UE may attempt to detect a PDCCH in units of 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 CCEsin the CORESET. One or a plurality of CCEs in which PDCCH detection maybe attempted may be referred to as PDCCH candidates.

A plurality of CORESETs may be configured for the terminal.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a difference between a related artcontrol region and the CORESET in NR.

Referring to FIG. 8, a control region 800 in the related art wirelesscommunication system (e.g., LTE/LTE-A) is configured over the entiresystem band used by a base station (BS). All the terminals, excludingsome (e.g., eMTC/NB-IoT terminal) supporting only a narrow band, must beable to receive wireless signals of the entire system band of the BS inorder to properly receive/decode control information transmitted by theBS.

On the other hand, in NR, CORESET described above was introduced.CORESETs 801, 802, and 803 are radio resources for control informationto be received by the terminal and may use only a portion, rather thanthe entirety of the system bandwidth. The BS may allocate the CORESET toeach UE and may transmit control information through the allocatedCORESET. For example, in FIG. 8, a first CORESET 801 may be allocated toUE 1, a second CORESET 802 may be allocated to UE 2, and a third CORESET803 may be allocated to UE 3. In the NR, the terminal may receivecontrol information from the BS, without necessarily receiving theentire system band.

The CORESET may include a UE-specific CORESET for transmittingUE-specific control information and a common CORESET for transmittingcontrol information common to all UEs.

Meanwhile, NR may require high reliability according to applications. Insuch a situation, a target block error rate (BLER) for downlink controlinformation (DCI) transmitted through a downlink control channel (e.g.,physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)) may remarkably decreasecompared to those of conventional technologies. As an example of amethod for satisfying requirement that requires high reliability,content included in DCI can be reduced and/or the amount of resourcesused for DCI transmission can be increased. Here, resources can includeat least one of resources in the time domain, resources in the frequencydomain, resources in the code domain and resources in the spatialdomain.

In NR, the following technologies/features can be applied.

<Self-Contained Subframe Structure>

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a frame structure for new radio accesstechnology.

In NR, a structure in which a control channel and a data channel aretime-division-multiplexed within one TTI, as shown in FIG. 9, can beconsidered as a frame structure in order to minimize latency.

In FIG. 9, a shaded region represents a downlink control region and ablack region represents an uplink control region. The remaining regionmay be used for downlink (DL) data transmission or uplink (UL) datatransmission. This structure is characterized in that DL transmissionand UL transmission are sequentially performed within one subframe andthus DL data can be transmitted and UL ACK/NACK can be received withinthe subframe. Consequently, a time required from occurrence of a datatransmission error to data retransmission is reduced, thereby minimizinglatency in final data transmission.

In this data and control TDMed subframe structure, a time gap for a basestation and a terminal to switch from a transmission mode to a receptionmode or from the reception mode to the transmission mode may berequired. To this end, some OFDM symbols at a time when DL switches toUL may be set to a guard period (GP) in the self-contained subframestructure.

<Analog Beamforming #1>

Wavelengths are shortened in millimeter wave (mmW) and thus a largenumber of antenna elements can be installed in the same area. That is,the wavelength is 1 cm at 30 GHz and thus a total of 100 antennaelements can be installed in the form of a 2-dimensional array at aninterval of 0.5 lambda (wavelength) in a panel of 5×5 cm. Accordingly,it is possible to increase a beamforming (BF) gain using a large numberof antenna elements to increase coverage or improve throughput in mmW.

In this case, if a transceiver unit (TXRU) is provided to adjusttransmission power and phase per antenna element, independentbeamforming per frequency resource can be performed. However,installation of TXRUs for all of about 100 antenna elements decreaseseffectiveness in terms of cost. Accordingly, a method of mapping a largenumber of antenna elements to one TXRU and controlling a beam directionusing an analog phase shifter is considered. Such analog beamforming canform only one beam direction in all bands and thus cannot providefrequency selective beamforming.

Hybrid beamforming (BF) having a number B of TXRUs which is smaller thanQ antenna elements can be considered as an intermediate form of digitalBF and analog BF. In this case, the number of directions of beams whichcan be simultaneously transmitted are limited to B although it dependson a method of connecting the B TXRUs and the Q antenna elements.

<Analog Beamforming #2>

When a plurality of antennas is used in NR, hybrid beamforming which isa combination of digital beamforming and analog beamforming is emerging.Here, in analog beamforming (or RF beamforming) an RF end performsprecoding (or combining) and thus it is possible to achieve theperformance similar to digital beamforming while reducing the number ofRF chains and the number of D/A (or A/D) converters. For convenience,the hybrid beamforming structure may be represented by N TXRUs and Mphysical antennas. Then, the digital beamforming for the L data layersto be transmitted at the transmitting end may be represented by an N byL matrix, and the converted N digital signals are converted into analogsignals via TXRUs, and analog beamforming represented by an M by Nmatrix is applied.

FIG. 10 is an abstract schematic diagram illustrating hybrid beamformingfrom the viewpoint of TXRUs and physical antennas.

In FIG. 10, the number of digital beams is L and the number of analogbeams is N. Further, in the NR system, by designing the base station tochange the analog beamforming in units of symbols, it is considered tosupport more efficient beamforming for a terminal located in a specificarea. Furthermore, when defining N TXRUs and M RF antennas as oneantenna panel in FIG. 7, it is considered to introduce a plurality ofantenna panels to which independent hybrid beamforming is applicable inthe NR system.

When a base station uses a plurality of analog beams as described above,analog beams suitable to receive signals may be different for terminalsand thus a beam sweeping operation of sweeping a plurality of analogbeams to be applied by a base station per symbol in a specific subframe(SF) for at least a synchronization signal, system information andpaging such that all terminals can have reception opportunities isconsidered.

FIG. 11 illustrates the beam sweeping operation for a synchronizationsignal and system information in a downlink (DL) transmission procedure.

In FIG. 11, physical resources (or a physical channel) in which systeminformation of the NR system is transmitted in a broadcasting manner isreferred to as a physical broadcast channel (xPBCH). Here, analog beamsbelonging to different antenna panels can be simultaneously transmittedwithin one symbol, and a method of introducing a beam reference signal(BRS) which is a reference signal (RS) to which a single analog beam(corresponding to a specific antenna panel) is applied in order tomeasure a channel per analog beam, as illustrated in FIG. 8, is underdiscussion. The BRS can be defined for a plurality of antenna ports, andeach antenna port of the BRS can correspond to a single analog beam.Here, all analog beams in an analog beam group are applied to thesynchronization signal or xPBCH and then the synchronization signal orxPBCH is transmitted such that an arbitrary terminal can successivelyreceive the synchronization signal or xPBCH.

FIG. 12 shows examples of 5G usage scenarios to which the technicalfeatures of the present disclosure can be applied. The 5G usagescenarios shown in FIG. 12 are only exemplary, and the technicalfeatures of the present disclosure can be applied to other 5G usagescenarios which are not shown in FIG. 12.

Referring to FIG. 12, the three main requirements areas of 5G include(1) enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) domain, (2) massive machine typecommunication (mMTC) area, and (3) ultra-reliable and low latencycommunications (URLLC) area. Some use cases may require multiple areasfor optimization and, other use cases may only focus on only one keyperformance indicator (KPI). 5G is to support these various use cases ina flexible and reliable way.

eMBB focuses on across-the-board enhancements to the data rate, latency,user density, capacity and coverage of mobile broadband access. The eMBBaims ˜10 Gbps of throughput. eMBB far surpasses basic mobile Internetaccess and covers rich interactive work and media and entertainmentapplications in cloud and/or augmented reality. Data is one of the keydrivers of 5G and may not be able to see dedicated voice services forthe first time in the 5G era. In 5G, the voice is expected to beprocessed as an application simply using the data connection provided bythe communication system. The main reason for the increased volume oftraffic is an increase in the size of the content and an increase in thenumber of applications requiring high data rates. Streaming services(audio and video), interactive video and mobile Internet connectivitywill become more common as more devices connect to the Internet. Many ofthese applications require always-on connectivity to push real-timeinformation and notifications to the user. Cloud storage andapplications are growing rapidly in mobile communication platforms,which can be applied to both work and entertainment. Cloud storage is aspecial use case that drives growth of uplink data rate. 5G is also usedfor remote tasks on the cloud and requires much lower end-to-end delayto maintain a good user experience when the tactile interface is used.In entertainment, for example, cloud games and video streaming areanother key factor that increases the demand for mobile broadbandcapabilities. Entertainment is essential in smartphones and tabletsanywhere, including high mobility environments such as trains, cars andairplanes. Another use case is augmented reality and informationretrieval for entertainment. Here, augmented reality requires very lowlatency and instantaneous data amount.

mMTC is designed to enable communication between devices that arelow-cost, massive in number and battery-driven, intended to supportapplications such as smart metering, logistics, and field and bodysensors. mMTC aims ˜10 years on battery and/or ˜1 million devices/km².mMTC allows seamless integration of embedded sensors in all areas and isone of the most widely used 5G applications. Potentially by 2020, IoTdevices are expected to reach 20.4 billion. Industrial IoT is one of theareas where 5G plays a key role in enabling smart cities, assettracking, smart utilities, agriculture and security infrastructures.

URLLC will make it possible for devices and machines to communicate withultra-reliability, very low latency and high availability, making itideal for vehicular communication, industrial control, factoryautomation, remote surgery, smart grids and public safety applications.URLLC aims ˜1 ms of latency. URLLC includes new services that willchange the industry through links with ultra-reliability/low latency,such as remote control of key infrastructure and self-driving vehicles.The level of reliability and latency is essential for smart gridcontrol, industrial automation, robotics, drones control andcoordination.

Next, a plurality of use cases included in the triangle of FIG. 12 willbe described in more detail.

5G can complement fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and cable-based broadband (orDOCSIS) as a means of delivering streams rated from hundreds of megabitsper second to gigabits per second. This high speed can be required todeliver TVs with resolutions of 4K or more (6K, 8K and above) as well asvirtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). VR and AR applicationsinclude mostly immersive sporting events. Certain applications mayrequire special network settings. For example, in the case of a VR game,a game company may need to integrate a core server with an edge networkserver of a network operator to minimize delay.

Automotive is expected to become an important new driver for 5G, withmany use cases for mobile communications to vehicles. For example,entertainment for passengers demands high capacity and high mobilebroadband at the same time. This is because future users will continueto expect high-quality connections regardless of their location andspeed. Another use case in the automotive sector is an augmented realitydashboard. The driver can identify an object in the dark on top of whatis being viewed through the front window through the augmented realitydashboard. The augmented reality dashboard displays information thatwill inform the driver about the object's distance and movement. In thefuture, the wireless module enables communication between vehicles,information exchange between the vehicle and the supportinginfrastructure, and information exchange between the vehicle and otherconnected devices (e.g. devices accompanied by a pedestrian). The safetysystem allows the driver to guide the alternative course of action sothat he can drive more safely, thereby reducing the risk of accidents.The next step will be a remotely controlled vehicle or self-drivingvehicle. This requires a very reliable and very fast communicationbetween different self-driving vehicles and between vehicles andinfrastructure. In the future, a self-driving vehicle will perform alldriving activities, and the driver will focus only on traffic that thevehicle itself cannot identify. The technical requirements ofself-driving vehicles require ultra-low latency and high-speedreliability to increase traffic safety to a level not achievable byhumans.

Smart cities and smart homes, which are referred to as smart societies,will be embedded in high density wireless sensor networks. Thedistributed network of intelligent sensors will identify conditions forcost and energy-efficient maintenance of a city or house. A similarsetting can be performed for each home. Temperature sensors, windows andheating controllers, burglar alarms and appliances are all wirelesslyconnected. Many of these sensors typically require low data rate, lowpower and low cost. However, for example, real-time HD video may berequired for certain types of devices for monitoring.

The consumption and distribution of energy, including heat or gas, ishighly dispersed, requiring automated control of distributed sensornetworks. The smart grid interconnects these sensors using digitalinformation and communication technologies to collect and act oninformation. This information can include supplier and consumerbehavior, allowing the smart grid to improve the distribution of fuel,such as electricity, in terms of efficiency, reliability, economy,production sustainability, and automated methods. The smart grid can beviewed as another sensor network with low latency.

The health sector has many applications that can benefit from mobilecommunications. Communication systems can support telemedicine toprovide clinical care in remote locations. This can help to reducebarriers to distance and improve access to health services that are notcontinuously available in distant rural areas. It is also used to savelives in critical care and emergency situations. Mobile communicationbased wireless sensor networks can provide remote monitoring and sensorsfor parameters such as heart rate and blood pressure.

Wireless and mobile communications are becoming increasingly importantin industrial applications. Wiring costs are high for installation andmaintenance. Thus, the possibility of replacing a cable with a wirelesslink that can be reconfigured is an attractive opportunity in manyindustries. However, achieving this requires that wireless connectionsoperate with similar delay, reliability, and capacity as cables and thattheir management is simplified. Low latency and very low errorprobabilities are new requirements that need to be connected to 5G.

Logistics and freight tracking are important use cases of mobilecommunications that enable tracking of inventory and packages anywhereusing location based information systems. Use cases of logistics andfreight tracking typically require low data rates, but require a largerange and reliable location information.

Hereinafter, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) link is described.For convenience of description, proposed methods are described withreference to a new RAT (NR) system. However, the proposed methods mayalso be applied to other systems including 3GPP LTE/LTE-A systems inaddition to the NR system.

One potential technology intended to enable future cellular networkdeployment scenarios and applications is supporting wireless backhauland relay links, which enables a flexible and highly dense deployment ofNR cells without needing to proportionally densify a transport network.It allows for flexible and very dense deployment.

With massive MIMO or a native deployment of multi-beam system, a greaterbandwidth (e.g., mmWave spectrum) is expected to be available in NR thanin LTE, and thus occasions for the development and deployment ofintegrated access and backhaul links arise. This allows an easydeployment of a dense network of self-backhauled NR cells in anintegrated manner by establishing a plurality of control and datachannels/procedures defined to provide connection or access to UEs. Thissystem is referred to as an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) link.

The following definitions are provided in the disclosure.

-   -   AC(x): Access link between node(x) and UE(s)    -   BH(xy): Backhaul link between node(x) and node(y)

Here, a node may refer to a donor gNB (DgNB) or a relay node (RN), wherea DgNB or a donor node may be a gNB that provides a function ofsupporting a backhaul for IAB nodes.

In the disclosure, for convenience of description, when there are relaynode 1 and relay node 2 and relay node 1 is connected to relay node 2through a backhaul link to relay data transmitted to and received fromrelay node 2, relay node 1 is referred to as a parent node of relay node2 and relay node 2 is referred to as a child node of relay node 1.

The following drawings are provided to explain specific examples of thepresent specification. Terms for specific devices illustrated in thedrawings or terms for specific signals/messages/fields illustrated inthe drawings are provided for illustration, and thus technical featuresof the present specification are not limited by the specific terms usedin the following drawings.

FIG. 13 schematically illustrates an example of a network having anintegrated access and backhaul (IAB) link.

Referring to FIG. 13, relay nodes (rTRPs) may multiplex access andbackhaul links in a time, frequency, or space domain (i.e., a beam-basedoperation).

Different links may operate on the same frequency or on differentfrequencies (which may be referred to as an in-band relay and anout-band relay, respectively). It is important to efficiently supportout-band relays for some NR deployment scenarios, while it is crucial tounderstand requirements for an in-band operation involving closeinterworking with an access link operating on the same frequency toaccommodate duplex constraints and to avoid/mitigate interference.

Furthermore, operating an NR system in a millimeter wave spectrum hasunique challenges, including experiencing severe short-term blockingwhich may not be easily mitigated by a current RRC-based handovermechanism due to a greater scale of time required to complete theprocedure than that for short-term blocking. To overcome short-termblocking in a millimeter wave system, a fast RAN-based mechanism forswitching between rTRPs that does not necessarily require inclusion of acore network may be required. A demand for mitigation of short-termblocking for an NR operation in a millimeter wave spectrum, along with ademand for easier deployment of self-backhauled NR cells, raises a needfor development of an integrated framework that allows fast switching ofaccess and backhaul links. Over-the-air coordination between rTRPs mayalso be considered to mitigate interference and to support end-to-endpath selection and optimization.

The following requirements and aspects need to be achieved by an IAB forNR.

-   -   Efficient and flexible operation for in-band and out-band        relaying in indoor and outdoor scenarios    -   Multi-hop and redundant connection    -   End-to-end path selection and optimization    -   Support of backhaul links with high spectral efficiency    -   Support of legacy NR terminals;    -   Legacy NR is designed to support half-duplex devices. Thus, half        duplex may be supported and useful in an IAB scenario.        Furthermore, IAB devices with full duplex may also be        considered.

In an IAB scenario, when each relay node (RN) does not have schedulingcapability, a donor gNB (DgNB) needs to schedule all links between theDgNB, related relay nodes, and UEs. That is, the DgNB needs to determinescheduling of all the links by collecting traffic information from allthe related relay nodes and needs to report scheduling information toeach node.

On the other hand, distributed scheduling may be performed when eachrelay node has scheduling capability. Distributed scheduling enablesimmediate scheduling in response to an uplink scheduling request from aUE and allows a backhaul/access link to be flexibly used by reflectingsurrounding traffic conditions.

FIG. 14 schematically illustrates an example of the configuration ofaccess and backhaul links.

FIG. 14 shows an example in which a backhaul link and an access link areconfigured when there are a DgNB and IAB relay nodes (RNs). DgNB and RN1are connected via a backhaul link, RN2 is connected to RN1 via abackhaul link, DgNB and UE1 are connected via an access link, RN1 andUE2 are connected via an access link, and RN2 and UE3 are connected viaan access link.

Referring to FIG. 14, the DgNB receives not only a scheduling requestfrom UE1 but also scheduling requests from UE2 and UE3. The DgNBdetermines scheduling of two back links and three access links andreports scheduling results. This centralized scheduling involves ascheduling delay and incurs latency.

On the other hand, distributed scheduling may be performed when eachrelay node has scheduling capability. Accordingly, it is possible toperform immediate scheduling in response to an uplink scheduling requestfrom a UE terminal and to flexibly use backhaul/access links byreflecting surrounding traffic conditions.

FIG. 15 illustrates a link and relationship between IAB nodes.

Referring to FIG. 15, IAB node 1 is connected with IAB node 2 throughbackhaul link A. With respect to backhaul link A, IAB node 1 is a parentnode of IAB node 2, and IAB node 2 is a child node of IAB node 1. IABnode 2 is connected with IAB node 3 via backhaul link B. With respect tobackhaul link B, IAB node 2 is a parent node of IAB node 3, and IAB node3 is a child node of IAB node 2.

Here, each IAB node may perform two functions. One is a mobiletermination (MT), which maintains a wireless backhaul connection to ahigher IAB node or a donor node as, and the other is a distributed unit(DU), which provides an access connection with UEs or a connection withan MT of a lower IAB node.

For example, for IAB node 2, a DU of IAB node 2 functionally establishesbackhaul link B with an MT of IAB node 3, and an MT of IAB node 2functionally establishes backhaul link A with a DU of IAB node 1. Here,a child link of the DU of IAB node 2 may refer to backhaul link Bbetween IAB node 2 and IAB node 3. A parent link of the MT of IAB node 2may refer to backhaul link A between IAB node 2 and IAB node 1.

FIG. 16 illustrates physical channels and general signal transmissionused in a 3GPP system.

In a wireless communication system, a UE receives information from abase station through a downlink (DL) and transmits information to thebase station through an uplink (UL). Information transmitted andreceived between the base station and the UE includes data and variouspieces of control information, and various physical channels existaccording to the type/use of the transmitted and received information.

When turned-off power is turned on again or the UE enters a new cell,the UE performs an initial cell search operation, such assynchronization with the base station (S11). To this end, the UEreceives a primary synchronization channel (PSCH) and a secondarysynchronization channel (SSCH) from the base station, synchronizes withthe base station and obtains information, such as a cell identity.Further, the UE may receive a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) from thebase station to obtain in-cell broadcast information. In addition, theUE may receive a downlink reference signal (DL RS) to check a downlinkchannel state in the cell initial cell search operation.

When the initial cell search is completed, the UE may receive a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) and a physical downlink shared channel(PDSCH) corresponding to the PDCCH, thus obtaining more specific systeminformation (S12).

Subsequently, the UE may perform a random access procedure to completeaccess to the base station (S13 to S16). In detail, the UE may transmita preamble through a physical random access channel (PRACH) (S13), andmay receive a random access response (RAR) in response to the preamblethrough a PDCCH and a PDSCH corresponding to the PDCCH (S14). Then, theUE may transmit a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) usingscheduling information in the RAR (S15) and may perform a contentionresolution procedure through a PDCCH and a PDSCH corresponding to thePDCCH (S16).

After performing this procedure, the UE may perform a generaluplink/downlink signal transmission procedure of receiving a PDCCH/PDSCH(S17) and transmitting a PUSCH/physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)(S18). Control information transmitted from the UE to the base stationis referred to as uplink control information (UCI).

UCI includes a hybrid automatic repeat and requestacknowledgement/negative-ACK (HARQ ACK/NACK), a scheduling request (SR),channel state information (CSI), and the like. The CSI includes achannel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), arank indication (RI), and the like. UCI is generally transmitted througha PUCCH, but may be transmitted through a PUSCH when control informationand data need to be transmitted at the same time. Further, the UE mayaperiodically transmit UCI through a PUSCH according to arequest/indication from a network.

Hereinafter, initial access of an IAB node is described.

An IAB node may follow the same initial access procedure as used for aUE including cell search, system information acquisition, and randomaccess in order to initially establish a connection to a parent node ora donor node. SSB/CSI-RS-based RRM measurement is the start point of IABnode discovery and measurement.

A method for avoiding a collision in SSB configuration between IAB nodesand an inter-IAB discovery procedure applying the feasibility ofdiscovering an IAB node on the basis of a CSI-RS, half-duplexconstraints, and multi-hop topology need to be taken into consideration.In view of a cell ID used by a given IAB node, the following two casesmay be considered.

Case 1: Donor node and IAB node share the same cell ID.

Case 2: Donor node and IAB node retain separate cell IDs.

Further, a mechanism for multiplexing RACH transmissions from UEs andRACH transmissions from IAB nodes also needs to be considered.

Hereinafter, backhaul link measurement is described.

It is necessary to consider measuring a plurality of backhaul links forlink management and path selection. To support half-duplex constraintsfrom the perspective of a given IAB node, IAB supports detecting andmeasuring candidate backhaul links (after initial access) usingresources orthogonal to resources used an access UEs for cell detectionand measurement. Here, the following aspects may be further considered.

-   -   TDM of a plurality of SSBs (e.g., according to hop order, cell        ID, or the like)    -   SSB muting across IAB nodes    -   Multiplexing of SSBs for access UEs and IAB nodes in a half        frame or across half frames    -   IAB node discovery signal (e.g., CSI-RS) that is TDMed with SSB        transmission    -   Use of off-raster SSB    -   Transmission period for backhaul link detection and measurement,        which is different from a period used by access UEs.

It is necessary to further consider a coordination mechanism fordifferent solutions including a coordination mechanism for measurementtime and reference signal (RS) transmission for IAB nodes.

It may be considered to enhance an SMTC and a CSI-RS configuration inorder to support RRM measurement for IAB nodes.

Hereinafter, backhaul link management is described.

An IAB node supports a mechanism for detecting/recovering a backhaullink failure. It may be further considered to improve a radio linkmonitoring reference signal (RLM RS) and related procedures for IAB.

Hereinafter, a mechanism for path switching or transmission/reception ina plurality of backhaul links is described.

It is necessary to consider a mechanism for simultaneous and efficientpath switching or transmission/reception in a plurality of backhaullinks (e.g., a multi-Tx/Rx (TRP) operation and intra-frequency dualconnectivity).

Hereinafter, scheduling of backhaul and access links is described.

Downlink transmission of an IAB node (i.e., transmission from the IABnode to a child IAB node served by the IAB node via a backhaul link andtransmission from the IAB node to UEs served by the IAB node via anaccess link) may be scheduled by the IAB node itself. Uplinktransmission of the IAB node (i.e., transmission from the IAB node to aparent IAB node thereof or a donor node via a backhaul link) may bescheduled by the parent IAB node or the donor node.

Hereinafter, multiplexing of backhaul and access links is described.

In IAB, an IAB node supports time-division multiplexing (TDM),frequency-division multiplexing (FDM), and spatial-division multiplexing(SDM) between access and backhaul links according to half-duplexconstraints. It is necessary to consider an efficient TDM/FDM/SDMmechanism for access/backhaul traffic over a multi-hop considering thehalf-duplex constraints of the IAB node. For various multiplexingoptions, the following aspects may be further considered.

-   -   Mechanism for orthogonally partitioning time slots or frequency        resources between access and backhaul links over one or a        plurality of hops    -   Use of different DL/UL slot configurations for access and        backhaul links    -   DL and UL power control enhancement and timing requirements to        allow intra-panel FDM and SDM in backhaul and access links    -   Interference management including cross-link interference.

Hereinafter, resource coordination is described.

It is necessary to consider a mechanism for scheduling coordination,resource allocation, and path selection across an IAB node/donor nodeand a plurality of backhaul hops. It is necessary to support semi-staticcoordination of resources (frequency, time in terms of slot/slot format,or the like) for IAB nodes (in timescale of RRC signaling). Thefollowing aspects may be further considered.

-   -   Distributed or centralized coordination mechanism    -   Resource granularity (e.g., TDD configuration pattern) of a        necessary signal    -   Exchange of layer-1 (L1) and/or layer-3 (L3) measurements        between IAB nodes    -   Exchange of information about topology affecting the design of a        physical layer of a backhaul link (e.g., hop order)    -   Coordination of resources (frequency, time in terms of slot/slot        format, or the like) faster than semi-static coordination

Hereinafter, IAB node synchronization and timing alignment aredescribed.

It is necessary to consider the feasibility of over-the-air (OTA)synchronization and the effect of timing misalignment on IAB performance(e.g., the number of supportable hops). It is necessary to consider amechanism for timing alignment over multi-hop NR-IAB networks. IABsupports timing advance (TA)-based synchronization between IAB nodesincluding a plurality of backhaul hops. It is necessary to furtherconsider improving an existing timing alignment mechanism.

The following cases of transmission timing alignment between IAB nodesand donor nodes need to be further taken into consideration.

-   -   Case 1: DL transmission timing alignment over IAB nodes and        donor nodes    -   Case 2: DL and UL transmission timing alignment within an IAB        Node    -   Case 3: DL and UL reception timing alignment within an IAB Node    -   Case 4: Transmission in Case 2 during reception in Case 3 within        an IAB node    -   Case 5: Case 1 for access link timing and Case 4 for backhaul        link timing in different time slots

The following levels of alignments need to be considered between an IABnode/donor node or within an IAB node:

-   -   Slot-level alignment    -   Symbol-level alignment    -   No alignment.

TDM/FDM/SDM of access and backhaul links, the impact of cross-linkinterference in different cases, and the impact of access UEs may befurther considered.

Hereinafter, cross-link interference measurement and management isdescribed.

The impact of cross-link interference (CLI) on access and backhaul links(including a plurality of hops) may be considered. Further, methods forinterference measurement and management need to be considered.

Hereinafter, a CLI mitigation technique is described.

A CLI mitigation technique including advanced receiver and transmittercoordination needs to be considered, and priorities need to bedetermined in terms of complexity and performance. The CLI mitigationtechnique needs to be able to manage the following inter-IABinterference scenarios.

-   -   Case 1: A victim IAB node performs DL reception via an MT        thereof, and an interfering IAB node performs UL transmission        via an MT thereof    -   Case 2: A victim IAB node performs DL reception via an MT        thereof, and an interfering IAB node performs DL transmission        via a DU thereof    -   Case 3: A victim IAB node performs UL reception via a DU        thereof, and an interfering IAB node performs UL transmission        via an MT thereof    -   Case 4: A victim IAB node performs UL reception via a DU        thereof, and an interfering IAB node performs DL transmission        via a DU thereof

When a given IAB node performs FDM/SDM reception between access andbackhaul links, interference experienced by the IAB node needs to befurther taken into consideration.

Hereinafter, spectral efficiency enhancement is described.

It is necessary to consider supporting 1024 quadrature amplitudemodulation (QAM) for a backhaul link.

Hereinafter, proposals of the disclosure are described.

Configurations, operations, and other features of the disclosure will beunderstood by embodiments of the disclosure described with reference tothe accompanying drawings.

The disclosure is described assuming an in-band environment but may alsobe applied in an out-band environment. Further, the disclosure isdescribed in consideration of an environment in which a donor-gNB(DgNB), a relay node (RN), and/or a UE perform a half-duplex operationbut may also be applied in an environment a DgNB, an RN, and/or a UEperform a full-duplex operation.

A discovery signal mentioned in the disclosure refers to a signaltransmitted by an IAB so that another IAB node or a UE can discover theIAB.

The discovery signal may be in the form of a synchronizationsignal/physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block or a synchronizationsignal block (SSB) of NR, in the form of a channel statusinformation-reference signal (CSI-RS), or in the form of a differentsignal of NR. Alternatively, the discovery signal may be a newlydesigned signal.

The disclosure mainly illustrates an IAB node discovering other IABnodes but may also be applied to a case where a UE discovers IAB nodes.

From an MT perspective of an IAB node, the following time-domainresources may be indicated for a parent link.

-   -   Downlink (DL) time resource    -   Uplink (UL) time resource    -   Flexible (F) time resource

From a DU perspective of an IAB node, a child link has the followingtime resource types.

-   -   Downlink (DL) time resource    -   Uplink (UL) time resource    -   Flexible (F) time resource    -   Not-available (NA) time resource (resource not used for        communication via a DU child link)

Each of a downlink time resource, an uplink time resource, and aflexible time resource for a DU child link may belong to one of thefollowing two categories.

-   -   Hard resource: A time resource that is always available for a DU        child link    -   Soft resource: A time resource the availability of which for a        DU child link is explicitly or implicitly controlled by a parent        node

The above classification is only for illustration. Alternatively, from aDU perspective of an IAB node, resource types may be classified into UL,DL, F, and availability settings may be classified into NA, a hardresource, and a soft resource. In detail, the IAB node may receiveresource configuration information, and the resource configurationinformation may include link direction information and availabilityinformation. Here, the link direction information may indicate whetherthe type of a specific resource is UL, DL, or F, and the availabilityinformation may indicate whether the specific resource is a hardresource or a soft resource. Alternatively, the link directioninformation may indicate whether the type of a specific resource is UL,DL, F or NA, and the availability information may indicate whether thespecific resource is a hard resource or a soft resource.

As described above, from a DU perspective of an IAB node, there are fourtypes of time resources, which are DL, UL, F and NA, for a child linkfrom. An NA time resource refers to a resource that is not used forcommunication on a DU child link.

Each of DL, UL, and F time resources for the DU child link may be eithera hard resource or a soft resource. A hard resource may refer to aresource that is always available for communication on the DU childlink. A soft resource may be a resource the availability of which forcommunication on the DU child link is explicitly and/or implicitlycontrolled by a parent node.

In this specification, a configuration about the link direction and thelink availability of a time resource for a DU child link may be referredto as a DU configuration. The DU configuration may be used for effectivemultiplexing and interference handling between IAB nodes. For example,the DU configuration may be used to indicate which link is a valid linkfor a time resource between a parent link and a child link. Further, theDU configuration may be established such that only a subset of childnodes uses a time resource for a DU operation, thus being used forinterference coordination between the child nodes. In view of thisaspect, the DU configuration may be effective when establishedsemi-statically.

An MT of an IAB node may have three types of time resources, which areDL, UL, and F, for a parent link thereof similarly to a slot formatindication (SFI) configuration for an access link.

FIG. 17 illustrates an MT configuration and a DU configuration.

Referring to FIG. 17, there are IAB node A, IAB node B, and IAB node C,a parent node of IAB node B is IAB node A, and a child node of IAB nodeB is IAB node C.

Referring to FIG. 17, an IAB node may receive an MT configurationindicating link direction information about a parent link between aparent node thereof and the IAB node for communication with the parentnode. In addition, the IAB node may receive a DU configurationindicating link direction and availability information that can be usedfor communication with a child node thereof.

For example, an MT configuration of IAB node B may include linkdirection information about a link between IAB node A and IAB node Bfrom the perspective of IAB node B, and a DU configuration of IAB node Bmay include link direction and availability information about a linkbetween IAB node B and IAB node C from the perspective of IAB node B.Further, an MT configuration of IAB node C may include the linkdirection of a link between IAB node B and IAB node C from theperspective of IAB node C, and a DU configuration of IAB node C mayinclude link direction and availability information about a link betweena child node of IAB node C or a UE connected to IAB node C and IAB nodeC from the perspective of IAB node C.

Here, for example, an operation performed by IAB node B with respect toa child node thereof, which is IAB node C, may be referred to as a DUoperation of IAB node B. Further, an operation performed by IAB node Bwith respect to a parent node thereof, which is IAB node A, may bereferred to as an MT operation of IAB node B.

Referring to FIG. 17, a DU resource of IAB node B may refer to aresource of IAB node B for the link between IAB node B and IAB node C.The link direction and the availability of the DU resource of IAB Node Bmay be determined on the basis of the DU configuration received by IABNode B. Further, an MT resource of IAB node B may refer to a resource ofIAB node B for the link between IAB node B and IAB node A. The linkdirection of the MT resource of IAB Node B may be determined on thebasis of the MT configuration received by IAB Node B.

Hereinafter, proposals of the disclosure are described in detail.

First, an operating method of an IAB node on a DU soft resource isdescribed.

Availability information about a resource configured as a soft resourceaccording to a DU configuration may be set by dynamic L1-signaling. Theavailability information about the soft resource may be as follows.

-   -   Indicated as available (IA): Explicitly or implicitly indicates        that a DU resource is available.    -   Indicated as not-available (INA): Explicitly or implicitly        indicates that a DU resource is unavailable.

For example, the availability information about the soft resource mayindicate only an available resource. That is, only resources indicatedby the availability information about the soft resource may be availableresources.

In the disclosure, L1-signaling including availability information abouta DU soft resource is referred to as a dynamic soft resourceconfiguration. In a soft resource before an IAB node receives a dynamicsoft resource setting or in a soft resource not determined as availableor unavailable by a dynamic soft resource configuration, the IAB nodemay operate as follows.

[Method 1-1] It is assumed that the DU soft resource is configured asINA. In this case, an MT operation has a higher priority than a DUoperation in the soft resource. That is, the IAB node may perform an MToperation on the soft resource.

[Method 1-2] It is assumed that the DU soft resource is configured asIA. In this case, a DU operation has a higher priority than an MToperation in the soft resource. That is, the IAB node may perform a DUoperation on the soft resource.

[Method 1-3] The IAB node performs an MT operation on a specific DU softresource and performs a DU operation on the remaining DU soft resource.Here, the DU soft resource for performing the MT operation may includeall or some of the following.

-   -   Resource configured for an MT downlink operation by a        semi-static MT downlink configuration (e.g., a PDCCH monitoring        resource, a CSI-RS transmission resource, a physical downlink        shared channel (PDSCH) transmission resources, or the like)    -   Resource configured for an MT uplink operation by a semi-static        MT uplink configuration (e.g., a grant-free resource, a        transmission resource for a physical uplink control channel        (PUCCH) and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configured        via a higher layer, a sounding reference signal (SRS)        transmission resource, a physical random access channel (PRACH)        resources, or the like)    -   Resource configured for an MT downlink operation by a dynamic MT        downlink configuration (e.g., a dynamic PDSCH transmission        resource, an aperiodic CSI-RS transmission resource, an        aperiodic tracking reference signal (TRS) transmission resource,        or the like)    -   Resource configured for an MT uplink operation by a dynamic MT        uplink configuration (e.g., a dynamic PUSCH transmission        resource, an aperiodic SRS transmission resource, an aperiodic        scheduling request (SR) transmission resource, or the like)

[Method 1-4] It is assumed that the DU soft resource is configured asINA in a PDCCH monitoring resource. In this case, an MT operation has ahigher priority than a DU operation in the soft resource. That is, theIAB node performs an MT operation on the soft resource, which is for theIAB node to receive DCI including a dynamic soft resource configurationvia a soft resource before receiving a dynamic soft resourceconfiguration or via a soft resource IA/INA of which is not determinedby a dynamic soft resource configuration. In addition, an MT operationmay also have a higher priority than a DU operation in a resourcedynamically configured for DL/UL transmission to an MT by a DL grant/ULgrant.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a communication methodperformed by an IAB node according to some embodiments of thedisclosure. Specifically, FIG. 18 illustrates a case where [Method 1-1]is applied.

Referring to FIG. 18, the IAB node receives DU configuration informationfrom a parent node of the IAB node (S1810). Here, the DU configurationinformation may indicate the link direction and the availability of aresource of the IAB node for a link between a child node of the IAB nodeand the IAB node. For example, the DU configuration information mayindicate a soft resource to the IAB node.

The IAB node performs communication with the parent node on a first softresource, the availability of which is not determined by the parentnode, among the soft resources and a second soft resource, which is notcontrolled as an available resource by the parent node (S1820).

Specifically, when the IAB node receives the DU configurationinformation, the IAB node may obtain information about the linkdirection (e.g., downlink, uplink, or flexible) and availability (e.g.,unavailable, soft resource, or hard resource) of a resource availablefor communication with the child node of the IAB node. Here, theavailability of a soft resource among the resources available for thecommunication with the child node may be finally determined by controlof the parent node of the IAB node. The control may be performed by L1signaling, such as DCI.

Here, the IAB node may fail to receive control information (e.g., L1signaling) about the soft resource after receiving the DU configurationinformation, or the availability of the soft resource may not bedetermined by the control information. In this case, according to FIG.18, the IAB node may perform an MT operation rather than a DU operationon the resource.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of a communication method performed by anIAB node according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

In FIG. 19, it is assumed that the IAB node receives DU configurationinformation. Referring to FIG. 19, the resource direction (not shown)and the availability of symbols N to N+8 are set by the DU configurationinformation. Here, symbol N+1, symbol N+3, and symbol N+4 are configuredas soft resources for the IAB node on the basis of the DU configurationinformation.

The IAB node may receive L1 signaling from a parent node thereof. The L1signaling may indicate whether symbol N+1, symbol N+3, and symbol N+4configured as soft resources are available. FIG. 19 illustrates anexample in which L1 signaling indicates only an available soft resourceamong soft resources.

Referring to FIG. 19, symbol N+1 and symbol N+4 are determined asavailable resources by L1 signaling, whereas the availability of symbolN+3 is not determined by L1 signaling. In this case, according to[Method 1-1], the IAB node assumes that symbol N+3 is an unavailablesoft resource. That is, the IAB node assumes that the IAB node cannotperform a DU operation, that is, communication with a child node of theIAB node, on symbol N+3. Accordingly, the IAB node performs an MToperation, that is, communication with a parent node of the IAB node, onsymbol N+3.

Next, the priority of a dynamic MT configuration is described.

By a dynamic configuration, an IAB node may be configured to perform anMT operation on a resource configured for a DU operation by a DUconfiguration. The resource configured for the DU operation may refer toa DU hard resource or a DU soft resource indicated as IA. For example,PDSCH transmission or PUSCH transmission to an MT may be configuredthrough a DL grant/UL grant. In this case, the IAB node may operate asfollows.

[Method 2-1] The IAB node drops transmission and reception to the MT andperforms an operation as a DU.

[Method 2-2] The IAB node performs transmission and reception to the MTin a DU soft resource and drops transmission and reception to the MT ina DU hard resource drops. That is, when data transmission and receptionis dynamically scheduled, the IAB node may (temporarily) override adynamic soft resource configuration (temporarily) as INA in acorresponding resource. Alternatively, the IAB node may disregard thedynamic soft resource configuration and may consider the resource as anunavailable (INA) resource.

[Method 2-3] The IAB node performs transmission and reception to the MT.That is, when data transmission and reception to the MT is dynamicallyscheduled, the IAB node may (temporarily) override a DU configuration asNA in a corresponding resource. Alternatively, the IAB node maydisregard the DU configuration and may consider the resource as anunavailable (NA) resource.

The foregoing methods may also be applied to a dynamically configured MToperation which is not data scheduling.

Next, data transmission on a DU priority resource is described.

By the foregoing methods, data, such as a PDSCH and a PUSCH, from aparent node to an MT of an IAB node may be scheduled including aresource for performing a DU operation. For example, when a PDSCH isscheduled to be transmitted through five symbols, if a DU operation hasa higher priority in some of the resources, the PDSCH may not bereceived. Thus, when resources scheduled for a PDSCH and a PUSCH includea resource configured for a DU operation, the IAB node may operate asfollows.

[Method 3-1] The IAB node drops PDSCH reception and PUSCH transmission.That is, even when an MT operation is impossible only in some resources,the IAB node drops PDSCH reception and PUSCH transmission.

[Method 3-2] The IAB node punctures PDSCH reception and PUSCHtransmission in the resource configured for the DU operation. That is,in the case of the PDSCH, the IAB node receives the PDSCH assuming thatthe PDSCH is punctured in the resource configured for the DU operation.In the case of the PUSCH, the IAB node transmits the PUSCH by puncturingthe PUSCH in the resource configured for the DU operation.

[Method 3-3] The IAB node rate-matches PDSCH reception and PUSCHtransmission in the resource configured for the DU operation. That is,in the case of the PDSCH, the IAB node receives the PDSCH assuming thatthe PDSCH is rate-matched in the resource configured for the DUoperation. In the case of the PUSCH, the IAB node transmits the PUSCH byrate-matching the PUSCH in the resource configured for the DU operation.

[Method 3-4] When the ratio of resources configured for the DU operationin a resource region scheduled for the PDSCH/PUSCH is a specific valueor greater, the IAB node drops PDSCH reception and PUSCH transmission.When the ratio of resources configured for the DU operation in theresource region scheduled for the PDSCH/PUSCH is less than the specificvalue, the IAB node performs PDSCH reception and PUSCH transmission bypuncturing or rate-matching.

Next, an SSB for an access UE is described.

A DU of an IAB node transmits an SSB for an access terminal or an accessUE (i.e., an access SSB). Here, the access UE attempts to receive theSSB assuming that the SSB is periodically transmitted from the IAB node.Here, for example, when the IAB node is configured to perform anoperation as an MT rather than an operation as a DU in a resource fortransmitting the SSB, the IAB node may not transmit the SSB to theaccess UE. In this case, the IAB node may not transmit the SSB in aresource via which the access UE expects that the SSB is transmitted.The disclosure proposes a method for solving this problem.

[Method 4-1] Transmission of an access SSB always has a higher priority.

(Method 4-1-a) The DU of the IAB node may transmit the SSB for theaccess UE in the resource for transmitting the SSB for the access UEregardless of a DU configuration thereof. That is, the SSB for theaccess UE may be transmitted even in a resource that is not availablefor transmission to the DU by the DU configuration. In this case, whenthe operation as the MT and the operation as the DU are subjected toTDM, the operation as the MT cannot be performed in the resource.

(Method 4-1-b) The DU of the IAB node may assume that the resource(e.g., an OFDM symbol or slot) for transmitting the SSB for the accessUE is always configured as a DL and/or hard resource in a DLconfiguration regardless of a DU configuration assigned thereto.

(Method 4-1-a) transmits the SSB in the resource for transmitting theSSB, while (Method 4-1-b) can transmit various downlink signals (e.g., adownlink data signal, a downlink control signal, an SSB, or the like)assuming that the resource for transmitting the SSB is a hard resource.

[Method 4-2] Whether to transmit the access SSB depends on a DUconfiguration.

(Method 4-2-a) The DU of the IAB node can transmit the access SSB onlywhen the DU of the IAB node can transmit the access SSB in the resourcefor transmitting the SSB for the access UE according to a semi-static DUconfiguration assigned thereto. The semi-static DU configuration mayrefer to a configuration about a link direction and/or availability pertime domain for the DU assigned through an F1-application protocol(F1-AP), system information (SI), and/or RRC. That is, the DU of the IABnode can transmit the access SSB only in a resource configured as a DLand hard resource according to the DU configuration and cannot transmitthe access SSB in a different resource.

(Method 4-2-b) When the DU of the IAB node cannot transmit the accessSSB in the resource for transmitting the SSB for the access UE accordingto a semi-static DU configuration assigned thereto, the DU of the IABnode may not transmit the access SSB. A resource not available fortransmission of the access SSB according to the semi-static DUconfiguration may include the following resources.

-   -   NA resource    -   UL hard/soft resource

In this case, when the resource for transmitting the SSB for the accessUE is a flexible resource, the DU of the IAB node assumes that adownlink (DL) operation can be performed in the resource. Alternatively,when the resource for transmitting the SSB for the access UE is a DLsoft resource, the DU of the IAB node assumes that an operation as theDU can be performed in the resource.

(Method 4-2-c) When the DU of the IAB node cannot transmit the accessSSB in the resource for transmitting the SSB for the access UE accordingto a semi-static DU configuration and a dynamic DU configurationassigned thereto, the DU of the IAB node may not transmit the accessSSB. The dynamic DU configuration may refer to a configuration about alink direction and/or availability per time domain for the DU of the IABnode assigned through L1 signaling. A resource not available fortransmission of the access SSB according to the semi-static DUconfiguration and the dynamic DU configuration may include the followingresources.

-   -   NA resource    -   UL hard/soft resource    -   DL soft resource configured as INA    -   Flexible resource by L1 signaling (e.g., group-common DCI)

Next, SSB transmission for backhaul discovery/measurement is described.

IAB nodes may transmit an SSB for backhaul discovery (i.e., a backhaulSSB) to discover each other and to measure each other. A DU of an IABnode periodically or aperiodically transmits a backhaul SSB thereof toallow other IAB nodes to discover and/or measure the IAB node, and an MTof the IAB node periodically or aperiodically receives a backhaul SSBtransmitted by neighboring IAB nodes to discover and/or measure theneighboring IAB nodes. Here, for example, when the IAB node isconfigured to perform an operation as an MT, rather than an operation asa DU, in a resource for transmitting a backhaul SSB, the IAB node maynot transmit a backhaul SSB. In this case, the IAB node may not transmitan SSB in a resource via which neighboring IAB nodes expects that theSSB is transmitted.

A backhaul SSB transmission resource may follow the foregoing access SSBtransmission method for an SSB for an access UE. That is, an access SSBand an access UE in the access SSB transmission method may be replacedrespectively with a backhaul SSB and a neighboring IAB node in SSBtransmission for backhaul discovery/measurement. Here, a transmissionmethod applied to an access SSB and a transmission method applied to abackhaul SSB may be different from each other.

In the disclosure, it is assumed that IAB nodes transmit a backhaul SSBas a backhaul discovery signal to discover each other and to measureeach other. However, the disclosure may also be applied when differenttypes of signals other than the SSB are used as backhaul discoverysignals.

In this specification, an access SSB may refer to an SSB transmitted byan IAB node to a UE, and a backhaul SSB may refer to an SSB transmittedby the IAB node to another IAB node. The access SSB and the backhaul SSBmay have the same structure or may have different structures.Alternatively, the access SSB and the backhaul SSB may be distinguishedfrom each other by allocated resources and included information.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method fordetermining the availability of a resource performed by an IAB nodeaccording to some embodiments of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 20, the IAB node receives SSB configurationinformation (S2010). Here, the SSB configuration information may includeinformation about an SSB transmitted and/or received by the IAB node. Inone example, the SSB configuration information may indicate an SSBtransmission resource for the IAB node to transmit the SSB.

The IAB node receives resource configuration information (S2020). Here,the resource configuration information may include a DU configuration.That is, the IAB node may obtain a link direction configuration and/oran availability configuration of a time resource related tocommunication with a child node thereof through the resourceconfiguration information. For example, the IAB node may identify, onthe basis of the resource configuration information, whether each timeresource is a DL resource, a UL resource, an F resource, or anunavailable (NA) resource and whether a DL resource, a UL resource, andan F resource are hard resources or soft resources.

The IAB node determines the availability of a specific resource includedin both the time resource and the SSB transmission resource on the basisof the SSB configuration information and the resource configurationinformation (S2030). Here, the SSB transmission resource may be aresource configured for the IAB node to transmit the SSB on the basis ofthe SSB configuration information.

Here, in an example of [Method 4-1], when the SSB transmission resourceis not configured as a hard resource on the basis of the resourceconfiguration information, the IAB node may assume that the SSBtransmission resource is a hard resource. Specifically, even though theSSB transmission resource is configured as a soft resource on the basisof the resource configuration information, the IAB node may assume thatthe SSB transmission resource is configured as a hard resource accordingto (Method 4-1-b). That is, when the SSB transmission resource is notconfigured as a hard resource according to the resource configurationinformation, the IAB node may determine the availability of the SSBtransmission resource as a hard resource, that is, as being alwaysavailable, in step S2030.

Although not shown in the drawing, the IAB node may transmit the SSB inthe SSB transmission resource according to (Method 4-1-a). Thus, anoperation of the IAB node transmitting the SSB is guaranteed.

Although not shown in the drawing, the IAB node may receive the resourceconfiguration information after receiving the SSB configurationinformation, may receive the SSB configuration information afterreceiving the resource configuration information, or may simultaneouslyreceive the SSB configuration information and the resource configurationinformation.

FIG. 21 schematically illustrates an example of applying a method fordetermining the availability of a resource performed by an IAB nodeaccording to some embodiments of the disclosure.

In FIG. 21, it is assumed that the IAB node has received resourceconfiguration information and SSB configuration information. Referringto FIG. 21, the IAB node knows that the IAB node performs SSBtransmission on symbol N+1 and symbol N+6 on the basis of the SSBconfiguration information.

Symbol N+1 and symbol N+6, which are indicated for SSB transmission ofthe IAB node on the basis of the SSB configuration information, areconfigured as a soft resource and a hard resource, respectively, on thebasis of the resource configuration information.

In this case, according to (Method 4-1-b), for example, symbol N+1 isconsidered as being configured as a hard resource for the IAB node. Thatis, according to (Method 4-1-b), the IAB node assumes that symbol N+1 isa hard resource despite the resource configuration information. In thiscase, the IAB node may determine symbol N+1 as an always availableresource without any explicit or implicit control of a parent node.Further, according to (Method 4-1-a), even though the parent node doesnot explicitly or implicitly transmit information indicating that symbolN+1 is available to the IAB node, the IAB node may perform SSBtransmission on symbol N+1.

Although FIG. 21 illustrates an example of a resource in symbols, themethod illustrated in FIG. 21 may also be applied to resources invarious units, such as a slot.

NR supports a plurality of numerologies (or a plurality of ranges ofsubcarrier spacing (SCS)) in order to support a variety of 5G services.For example, when SCS is 15 kHz, a wide area in traditional cellularbands is supported; when SCS is 30 kHz/60 kHz, a dense-urban,lower-latency, and wider-carrier bandwidth is supported; when SCS is 60kHz or higher, a bandwidth greater than 24.25 GHz is supported toovercome phase noise.

NR frequency bands may be defined as frequency ranges of two types (FR1and FR2). The values of the frequency ranges may be changed. Forexample, the frequency ranges of the two types (FR1 and FR2) may be asshown in Table 4. For convenience of description, FR1 of the frequencyranges used for an NR system may refer to a “sub 6 GHz range”, and FR2may refer to an “above 6 GHz range” and may be referred to as amillimeter wave (mmW).

TABLE 4 Frequency range Corresponding frequency Subcarrier designationrange spacing FR1 450 MHz-6000 MHz 15, 30, 60 kHz FR2 24250 MHz-52600MHz  60, 120, 240 kHz

As illustrated above, the values of the frequency ranges for the NRsystem may be changed. For example, FR1 may include a band from 410 MHzto 7125 MHz as shown in Table 5. That is, FR1 may include a frequencyband of 6 GHz (or 5850, 5900, 5925 MHz, or the like) or greater. Forexample, the frequency band of 6 GHz (or 5850, 5900, 5925 MHz, or thelike) or greater included in FR1 may include an unlicensed band. Theunlicensed bands may be used for a variety of purposes, for example, forvehicular communication (e.g., autonomous driving).

TABLE 5 Frequency range Corresponding frequency Subcarrier designationrange spacing FR1 410 MHz-7125 MHz 15, 30, 60 kHz FR2 24250 MHz-52600MHz  60, 120, 240 kHz

Next, discovery/measurement of a neighbor IAB node is described.

An IAB node may receive a backhaul SSB transmitted by other IAB nodesvia a resource configured for discovery/measurement of a different IABnode or a resource configured to mute backhaul SSB transmission thereofto discover/measure a neighboring IAB node. Here, when the IAB node isconfigured to transmit a backhaul SSB thereof in the resource configuredfor discovery/measurement for the different IAB node, the IAB node maymute backhaul SSB transmission thereof.

In the disclosure, a resource configured for an IAB node todiscover/measure a different IAB node or a resource configured for anIAB node to mute backhaul SSB transmission thereof is referred to as adiscovery resource. For example, when an IAB node is configured toperform an operation as a DU, rather than an operation as an MT, in adiscovery resource, the IAB node may not perform an operation ofdiscovering/measuring another IAB node.

Here, the discovery resource configured for the IAB node may conflictwith 1) a DU operation resource or 2) an MT uplink (UL) transmissionresource. In addition, the discovery resource configured for the IABnode may conflict with 3) a resource configured/scheduled forcommunication with a parent node since it may be difficult tosimultaneously perform downlink (DL) reception with a parent node and anoperation of discovering/measuring a neighboring IAB node in frequencyrange 2 (FR2) using analog beamforming. In view of such conflicts, thedisclosure proposes the following operations for the IAB node.

1) Conflict Between Discovery Resource and DU Operation Resource

A resource configured as a discovery resource for the IAB node may alsobe configured for a DU operation at the same time. In this case, it isproposed that the IAB node operates as follows.

[Method 6-1-1] The IAB node may always perform an operation as an MT fordiscovering/measuring a neighboring IAB node, rather than a DUoperation, in the resource configured as the discovery signal regardlessof a DU configuration thereof. To this end, according to another method,the IAB node may assume that the DU configuration is unavailable (NA) inthe resource configured as the discovery resource.

[Method 6-1-2] Even though the resource configured as the discoveryresource is configured for a DU operation, the IAB node may perform anoperation as an MT for discovering/measuring a neighboring IAB node,rather than a DU operation, according to a condition. Here, even thoughthe resource configured as the discovery resource is configured as adiscovery resource among all or some of the following resources, the IABnode may preferentially perform an operation as a DU in the resource andmay perform an operation as an MT for discovering/measuring aneighboring IAB node, rather than the DU operation, in the remainingresources. That is, even though all or some of the following resourcesare configured as discovery resources for the IAB node, the IAB node maypreferentially perform the DU operation in the resources.

-   -   Resource semi-statically configured via an F1-AP, system        information, or RRC to transmit data or a signal to a child node        or an access UE    -   Resource semi-statically configured via an F1-AP, system        information, or RRC to receive data or a signal from a child        node or an access UE    -   Resource dynamically configured via MAC signaling to transmit        data or a signal to a child node or an access UE    -   Resource dynamically configured via MAC signaling to receive        data or a signal from a child node or an access UE    -   Resource dynamically configured via L1-signaling to transmit        data or a signal to a child node or an access UE    -   Resource dynamically configured via L1-signaling to receive data        or a signal from a child node or an access UE

[Method 6-1-3] The IAB node may construe, as a discovery resourcethereof, a resource in which a DU operation is not performed accordingto a DU configuration among resources configured to transmit a backhaulSSB. Specifically, the resource in which the DU operation is notperformed according to the DU configuration may include all or some ofthe following resources.

-   -   Resource configured as unavailable (NA) according to a        semi-static DU configuration    -   Soft resource configured as unavailable (INA) via dynamic        L1-signaling and explicit L1-signaling    -   Soft resource configured to transmit and receive data and/or a        signal via a DL grant/UL grant

[Method 6-1-4] A discovery resource for the IAB node may exist onlyamong resources configured as unavailable (NA) for a DU operationaccording to a DU configuration. Therefore, when a resource other thanan unavailable resource is configured as a discovery resource for theIAB node, the IAB node performs an operation as a DU in the resource andexcludes the resource from discovery resources.

2) Conflict Between Discovery Resource and MT Uplink (UL) OperationResource

A resource configured as a discovery resource for the IAB node may alsobe configured for uplink (UL) transmission with a parent node at thesame time. In this case, it is proposed that the IAB node operates asfollows.

[Method 6-2-1] The IAB node may perform a downlink (DL) operation and anoperation of discovering/measuring a neighboring IAB node in a resourceconfigured as a discovery resource regardless of an MT configuration tothe IAB node. That is, the IAB node may assume that thesemi-static/dynamic MT configuration is overridden by a downlink (DL) inthe resource configured as the discovery resource. Alternatively, theIAB node may disregard the semi-static/dynamic MT configuration and mayassume that the resource is configured for a downlink (DL).

[Method 6-2-2] The IAB node may perform a downlink (DL) operation and anoperation of discovering/measuring a neighboring IAB node in a resourceconfigured as a discovery resource regardless of a semi-static MTconfiguration. However, the IAB node follows a configuration by dynamicL1-signaling and cannot perform an operation of discovering/measuring aneighboring IAB node in a resource configured as an (UL) resource or aflexible resource through dynamic L1-signaling (e.g., group-common DCIor a DL grant/UL grant). That is, a semi-static MT configuration isoverridden by a downlink (DL) in a discovery resource region, and adynamic MT link direction configuration may override the discoveryresource region.

[Method 6-2-3] The IAB node may perform a downlink operation and anoperation of discovering/measuring a neighboring IAB node in a region,available for a downlink operation according to an MT configurationthereof, of the resource configured as the discovery resource. Theregion available for the downlink operation may refer to all or some ofthe following resources.

-   -   Resource configured as a downlink resources according to a        semi-static MT configuration    -   Resource configured as a downlink resource according to        group-common DCI    -   Resource configured for a downlink operation according to a DL        grant

3) Conflict Between Discovery Resource and Resource Configured/Scheduledfor Communication with Parent Node

For example, it may be difficult to simultaneously perform downlinkreception with a parent node and an operation of discovering/measuring aneighboring IAB node in frequency range 2 (FR2) using analogbeamforming. Therefore, when the IAB node is configured to receive adownlink channel or a signal from a parent node in a resource configuredas a discovery resource, the IAB node may operate as follows.

[Method 6-3-1] The IAB node may perform an operation ofdiscovering/measuring a neighboring IAB node in the resource configuredas the discovery resource regardless of an MT configuration thereof.Here, the IAB node may not perform a transmission/reception operationwith the parent node.

[Method 6-3-2] The IAB node may perform an operation ofdiscovering/measuring a neighboring IAB node in the resource configuredas the discovery resource regardless of a semi-static MT configurationthereof. Here, the IAB node may not perform a transmission/receptionoperation with the parent node. However, the IAB node may perform atransmission/reception operation with the parent node and may notperform an operation of discovering/measuring a neighboring IAB nodeaccording to a configuration through dynamic L1-signaling in a resourceconfigured as a downlink (DL) resource, an uplink (UL) resource, or aflexible (F) resource through dynamic L1-signaling (e.g., group-commonDCI or a DL grant/UL grant).

[Method 6-3-3] The IAB node may perform an operation ofdiscovering/measuring a neighboring IAB node in the resource configuredas the discovery resource regardless of an MT configuration thereof.Here, the IAB node may not perform a transmission/reception operationwith the parent node. However, the IAB node may perform atransmission/reception operation with the parent node and may notperform an operation of discovering/measuring a neighboring IAB node ina resource dynamically configured for a downlink/uplink operation withthe parent node through a DL grant/UL grant.

[Method 6-3-4] When the resource configured as the discovery resource isconfigured as a downlink resource according to a semi-static MTconfiguration set for the IAB node, the IAB node may perform anoperation of discovering/measuring a neighboring IAB node in theresource. In addition, when the IAB node is configured to perform datareception with the parent node according to a DL grant and/or aperiodicTRS/CSI-RS reception in the downlink resource, the IAB node performs areception operation with the parent node and cannot perform an operationof discovering/measuring a neighboring IAB node.

[Method 6-3-5] When the resource configured as the discovery resource isconfigured as a downlink resource according to a semi-static MTconfiguration set for the IAB node or according to group-common DCIdynamically transmitted, the IAB node may perform an operation ofdiscovering/measuring a neighboring IAB node in the resource. Inaddition, when the IAB node is configured to perform data reception withthe parent node according to a DL grant and/or aperiodic TRS/CSI-RSreception in the downlink resource, the IAB node performs a receptionoperation with the parent node and cannot perform an operation ofdiscovering/measuring a neighboring IAB node.

Here, the IAB node may determine whether to apply a solution to 3) theconflict between the discovery resource and the resourceconfigured/scheduled for communication with the parent node according tothe frequency band in which the IAB node operates. For example, the IABnode may not consider the conflict between the discovery resource andthe resource configured/scheduled for communication with the parent nodein FR1 but may operate in FR2 considering the conflict between thediscovery resource and the resource configured/scheduled forcommunication with the parent node. Alternatively, information aboutwhether to apply a solution to 3) the conflict between the discoveryresource and the resource configured/scheduled for communication withthe parent node may be configured or transmitted. For example, thisinformation may be configured or transmitted to the IAB node using amaster information block (MIB) transmitted via a backhaul SSB, systeminformation, RRC, or an F1-AP.

In the disclosure, it is assumed that IAB nodes transmit a backhaul SSBas a backhaul discovery signal in order to discover each other and tomeasure each other. However, the disclosure may also be applied whendifferent types of signals other than the SSB are used as backhauldiscovery signals.

For example, a backhaul SSB may be transmitted as follows. A timeresource for transmitting the backhaul SSB may be the same for all IABnodes. This backhaul SSB transmission resource may be configured for adownlink (DL) according to a DU configuration. In this case, an MTconfiguration of an IAB node in this resource is also configured for adownlink (DL). Here, in a specific region of the backhaul SSBtransmission time, the IAB node may mute backhaul SSB transmission andmay perform an operation of discovering/measuring a neighboring IABnode. In this case, the IAB node may assume/determine that the DUconfiguration is unavailable (NA) in the resource configured to mute thebackhaul SSB transmission and may perform an operation as an MT.

FIG. 22 illustrates a method for configuring a resource for an operationof discovering/measuring an IAB node according to some embodiments ofthe disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 22, when there are IAB nodes A, B, and C, a resourceis configured such that a backhaul SSB (BH SSB) is basically transmittedto all IAB nodes at the same position. Accordingly, a time resource fortransmitting the backhaul SSB is configured as a downlink resourceaccording to a DU configuration. Here, the downlink resource may belimited to a hard resource or may be a hard resource or a soft resource.Since the time resource for transmitting the backhaul SSB is configuredas the downlink resource according to the configuration, an MTconfiguration of the IAB nodes may be also configured for the downlinkin the resource in order to receive the backhaul SSB. Here, referring toFIG. 22, a resource for IAB node-specifically muting backhaul SSBtransmission and performing an operation of discovering and/or measuringa neighboring IAB node may be configured. In this case, the IAB node mayassume that the DU configuration is changed to unavailable (NA) in theresource. Accordingly, an IAB node may operate as an MT, withoutperforming an operation as a DU, in the resource, and may perform anoperation of discovering and/or measuring a neighboring IAB node withoutany problem in the resource, which is configured for the downlink forthe MT.

For the IAB node, an SSB transmission configuration (STC), which is aconfiguration about a time resources for transmitting a backhaul SSB,and an SSB measurement time configuration (SMTC), which is aconfiguration about a time resource for performing an operation ofdiscovering and/or measuring a neighboring IAB node using a backhaul SSBtransmitted from the neighboring IAB node may be configured.

Here, case 1 where some of resources configured to transmit an SSBaccording to the STC are configured to perform an operation ofdiscovering and/or measuring a neighboring IAB node according to theSMTC and case 2 where some of resources configured to perform anoperation of discovering and/or measuring a neighboring IAB nodeaccording to the SMTC are configured to transmit an SSB according to theSTC may be considered.

FIG. 23 schematically illustrates an example of case 1 where some ofresources configured to transmit an SSB according to the STC areconfigured to perform an operation of discovering and/or measuring aneighboring IAB node according to the SMTC.

Referring to FIG. 23, time resources having the same period are commonlyconfigured as STC resources for IAB nodes 1 to 4. Further, timeresources having the same period are commonly configured as SMTCresources for IAB nodes 1 to 4. Here, the period of the SMTC resourcesmay be a multiple of the period of the STC resources.

Here, IAB nodes 1 to 4 may have the same period but may use differenttime resources as SMTC resources, respectively. For example, an SMTCresource for IAB node 1 may be configured at a specific time that is thesame as the time of STC resources for IAB nodes 2 to 4.

In case 1, an IAB node basically transmits an SSB according to the STC.When there is a conflict between the STC and the SMTC, the IAB nodemutes SSB transmission and performs an operation ofdiscovery/transmission to a neighboring IAB node.

FIG. 24 schematically illustrates an example of case 2 where some ofresources configured to perform an operation of discovering and/ormeasuring a neighboring IAB node according to the SMTC are configured totransmit an SSB according to the STC.

Referring to FIG. 24, time resources having the same period are commonlyconfigured as SMTC resources for IAB nodes 1 to 4. Further, timeresources having the same period are commonly configured as STCresources for IAB nodes 1 to 4. Here, the period of the STC resourcesmay be a multiple of the period of the SMTC resources.

Here, IAB nodes 1 to 4 may have the same period but may use differenttime resources as STC resources, respectively. For example, an STCresource for IAB node 1 may be configured at a specific time that is thesame as the time of SMTC resources for IAB nodes 2 to 4.

In case 2, the IAB node performs an operation of measuring a neighboringIAB node according to the SMTC every SMTC period. When there is aconflict between the STC and the SMTC, the IAB node performs SSBtransmission instead of performing an operation of measuring aneighboring IAB node.

A time region for indicating the link direction of a child link and theavailability of a DU operation using a DU configuration is restricted,and a configuration for this restricted region is repeatedly used atspecific intervals. That is, the time region that can be configured withthe DU configuration is 40 milliseconds (msec), the configuration isrepeatedly applied every 40 msec. A period in which the DU configurationis applied may be shorter than the period of the SMTC and/or STC.Therefore, it is possible to configure an STC resource and an SMTCresource as a hard resource and an unavailable (NA) resource,respectively. For example, the DU configuration may indicate the linkdirection and availability for a 40-msec symbol period, but the SMTC andthe STC may have a period of 320 msec and a period of 80 msec,respectively. In this case, symbols available for an SSB discoveryoperation may be configured as DU hard resources. These symbols may alsobe used for measurement of a neighboring IAB node in a certain period.However, an MT of an IAB node cannot perform a measurement operationbecause these resources are configured as DU hard resources.

In order to solve this problem, a method may be considered in which a DUhard resource is assumed as an STC resource and a DU unavailable (NA)resource is assumed as an SMTC resource. When there is a conflictbetween an STC and an SMTC, a DU hard resource may be assumed if an STCperiod is longer than an SMTC period, and a DU unavailable resource maybe assumed if the SMTC period is longer than the STC period.

Next, a measurement gap for an IAB node is described.

When the IAB node performs inter-frequency measurement, a measurementgap may be set, and the IAB node may perform the inter-frequencymeasurement using the region of the measurement gap. As in the foregoingSSB transmission for backhaul discovery/measurement, a resource for themeasurement gap may also have 1) a conflict with a DU operationresource, 2) a conflict with an MT uplink (UL) transmission resource,and 3) a conflict with a resource for communication with a parent node.Therefore, the resource configured as the measurement gap may follow theIAB node operation method in the discovery resource region proposed inthe foregoing SSB transmission for backhaul discovery/measurement. Thatis, a discovery resource and discovery/measurement of a neighboring nodein the SSB transmission for backhaul discovery/measurement may bereplaced with the measurement gap and the inter-frequency measurement,respectively. In this case, an IAB node operation method applied to thediscovery resource and the IAB node operation method applied to themeasurement gap may be different from each other.

Claims in this specification may be combined in various ways. Forinstance, technical features of method claims of the specification maybe combined to be implemented or performed in an apparatus, andtechnical features of apparatus claims may be combined to be implementedor performed in a method. Further, technical features of method claim(s)and technical features of apparatus claim(s) may be combined to beimplemented or performed in an apparatus, and technical features ofmethod claim(s) and technical features of apparatus claim(s) can becombined to be implemented or performed in a method.

The methods proposed herein may be performed by not only an IAB node butalso at least one computer-readable medium including an instructionexecuted by at least one processor and an apparatus configured tocontrol an IAB node, the apparatus including at least one processor andat least one memory that is operatively connected to the at least oneprocessor and stores instructions, and the at least one processorexecuting the instructions to perform the methods proposed herein.

Hereinafter, an example of a communication system to which thedisclosure is applied is described.

Various descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/oroperational flowcharts disclosed herein may be applied to, but notlimited to, various fields requiring wireless communication/connection(e.g., 5G) between devices.

Hereinafter, specific examples are illustrated with reference todrawings. In the following drawings/description, unless otherwiseindicated, like reference numerals may refer to like or correspondinghardware blocks, software blocks, or functional blocks.

FIG. 25 illustrates a communication system 1 applied to the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 25, the communication system 1 applied to thedisclosure includes a wireless device, a base station, and a network.Here, the wireless device refers to a device that performs communicationusing a radio access technology (e.g., 5G new RAT (NR) or Long-TermEvolution (LTE)) and may be referred to as a communication/wireless/5Gdevice. The wireless device may include, but limited to, a robot 100 a,a vehicle 100 b-1 and 100 b-2, an extended reality (XR) device 100 c, ahand-held device 100 d, a home appliance 100 e, an Internet of things(IoT) device 100 f, and an AI device/server 400. For example, thevehicle may include a vehicle having a wireless communication function,an autonomous driving vehicle, a vehicle capable of inter-vehiclecommunication, or the like. Here, the vehicle may include an unmannedaerial vehicle (UAV) (e.g., a drone). The XR device may includeaugmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR)/mixed reality (MR) devicesand may be configured as a head-mounted device (HMD), a vehicularhead-up display (HUD), a television, a smartphone, a computer, awearable device, a home appliance, digital signage, a vehicle, a robot,or the like. The hand-held device may include a smartphone, a smartpad,a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch or smart glasses), and a computer(e.g., a notebook). The home appliance may include a TV, a refrigerator,a washing machine, and the like. The IoT device may include a sensor, asmart meter, and the like. The base station and the network may beconfigured, for example, as wireless devices, and a specific wirelessdevice 200 a may operate as a base station/network node for otherwireless devices.

The wireless devices 100 a to 100 f may be connected to the network 300through the base station 200. Artificial intelligence (AI) technologymay be applied to the wireless devices 100 a to 100 f, and the wirelessdevices 100 a to 100 f may be connected to an AI server 400 through thenetwork 300. The network 300 may be configured using a 3G network, a 4G(e.g., LTE) network, or a 5G (e.g., NR) network. The wireless devices100 a to 100 f may communicate with each other via the base station200/network 300 and may also perform direct communication (e.g. sidelinkcommunication) with each other without passing through the basestation/network. For example, the vehicles 100 b-1 and 100 b-2 mayperform direct communication (e.g. vehicle-to-vehicle(V2V)/vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication). Further, the IoTdevice (e.g., a sensor) may directly communicate with another IoT device(e.g., a sensor) or another wireless device 100 a to 100 f.

Wireless communications/connections 150 a, 150 b, and 150 c may beestablished between the wireless devices 100 a to 100 f and the basestation 200 and between the base stations 200. Here, the wirelesscommunications/connections may be established by various wireless accesstechnologies (e.g., 5G NR), such as uplink/downlink communication 150 a,sidelink communication 150 b (or D2D communication), and inter-basestation communication 150 c (e.g., relay or integrated access backhaul(IAB)). The wireless devices and the base station/wireless devices, andthe base stations may transmit/receive radio signals to/from each otherthrough the wireless communications/connections 150 a, 150 b, and 150 c.For example, the wireless communications/connections 150 a, 150 b, and150 c may transmit/receive signals over various physical channels. Tothis end, at least some of various configuration information settingprocesses, various signal processing processes (e.g., channelencoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, resource mapping/demapping,and the like), and resource allocation processes may be performed on thebasis of various proposals of the disclosure.

Hereinafter, an example of a wireless device to which the disclosure isapplied is described.

FIG. 26 illustrates a wireless device that is applicable to thedisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 26, a first wireless device 100 and a second wirelessdevice 200 may transmit and receive radio signals through various radioaccess technologies (e.g., LTE and NR). Here, the first wireless device100 and the second wireless device 200 may respectively correspond to awireless device 100 x and the base station 200 of FIG. 25 and/or mayrespectively correspond to a wireless device 100 x and a wireless device100 x of FIG. 25.

The first wireless device 100 includes at least one processor 102 and atleast one memory 104 and may further include at least one transceiver106 and/or at least one antenna 108. The processor 102 may be configuredto control the memory 104 and/or the transceiver 106 and to implementthe descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/oroperational flowcharts disclosed herein. For example, the processor 102may process information in the memory 104 to generate firstinformation/signal and may then transmit a radio signal including thefirst information/signal through the transceiver 106. In addition, theprocessor 102 may receive a radio signal including secondinformation/signal through the transceiver 106 and may store informationobtained from signal processing of the second information/signal in thememory 104. The memory 104 may be connected to the processor 102 and maystore various pieces of information related to the operation of theprocessor 102. For example, the memory 104 may store a software codeincluding instructions to perform some or all of processes controlled bythe processor 102 or to perform the descriptions, functions, procedures,proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosed herein.Here, the processor 102 and the memory 104 may be part of acommunication modem/circuit/chip designed to implement a radiocommunication technology (e.g., LTE or NR). The transceiver 106 may beconnected with the processor 102 and may transmit and/or receive a radiosignal via the at least one antennas 108. The transceiver 106 mayinclude a transmitter and/or a receiver. The transceiver 106 may bereplaced with a radio frequency (RF) unit. In the disclosure, thewireless device may refer to a communication modem/circuit/chip.

The second wireless device 200 includes at least one processor 202 andat least one memory 204 and may further include at least one transceiver206 and/or at least one antenna 208. The processor 202 may be configuredto control the memory 204 and/or the transceiver 206 and to implementthe descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/oroperational flowcharts disclosed herein. For example, the processor 202may process information in the memory 204 to generate thirdinformation/signal and may then transmit a radio signal including thethird information/signal through the transceiver 206. In addition, theprocessor 202 may receive a radio signal including fourthinformation/signal through the transceiver 206 and may store informationobtained from signal processing of the fourth information/signal in thememory 204. The memory 204 may be connected to the processor 202 and maystore various pieces of information related to the operation of theprocessor 202. For example, the memory 204 may store a software codeincluding instructions to perform some or all of processes controlled bythe processor 202 or to perform the descriptions, functions, procedures,proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosed herein.Here, the processor 202 and the memory 204 may be part of acommunication modem/circuit/chip designed to implement a radiocommunication technology (e.g., LTE or NR). The transceiver 206 may beconnected with the processor 202 and may transmit and/or receive a radiosignal via the at least one antennas 208. The transceiver 206 mayinclude a transmitter and/or a receiver. The transceiver 206 may bereplaced with an RF unit. In the disclosure, the wireless device mayrefer to a communication modem/circuit/chip.

Hereinafter, hardware elements of the wireless devices 100 and 200 aredescribed in detail. At least one protocol layer may be implemented, butlimited to, by the at least one processor 102 and 202. For example, theat least one processor 102 and 202 may implement at least one layer(e.g., a functional layer, such as PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and SDAPlayers). The at least one processor 102 and 202 may generate at leastone protocol data unit (PDU) and/or at least one service data unit (SDU)according to the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals,methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosed herein. The at leastone processor 102 and 202 may generate a message, control information,data, or information according to the descriptions, functions,procedures, proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosedherein. The at least one processor 102 and 202 may generate a signal(e.g., a baseband signal) including a PDU, an SDU, a message, controlinformation, data, or information according to the functions,procedures, proposals, and/or methods disclosed herein and may providethe signal to the at least one transceiver 106 and 206. The at least oneprocessor 102 and 202 may receive a signal (e.g., a baseband signal)from the at least one transceiver 106 and 206 and may obtain a PDU, anSDU, a message, control information, data, or information according tothe descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/oroperational flowcharts disclosed herein.

The at least one processor 102 and 202 may be referred to as acontroller, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, or a microcomputer. Theat least one processor 102 and 202 may be implemented by hardware,firmware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, at least oneapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), at least one digitalsignal processor (DSP), at least one digital signal processing devices(DSPD), at least one programmable logic devices (PLD), or at least onefield programmable gate array (FPGA) may be included in the at least oneprocessor 102 and 202. The descriptions, functions, procedures,proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosed herein maybe implemented using firmware or software, and the firmware or softwaremay be configured to include modules, procedures, functions, and thelike. The firmware or software configured to perform the descriptions,functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/or operational flowchartsdisclosed herein may be included in the at least one processor 102 and202 or may be stored in the at least one memory 104 and 204 and may beexecuted by the at least one processor 102 and 202. The descriptions,functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and/or operational flowchartsdisclosed herein may be implemented in the form of a code, aninstruction, and/or a set of instructions using firmware or software.

The at least one memory 104 and 204 may be connected to the at least oneprocessor 102 and 202 and may store various forms of data, signals,messages, information, programs, codes, indications, and/or commands.The at least one memory 104 and 204 may be configured as a ROM, a RAM,an EPROM, a flash memory, a hard drive, a register, a cache memory, acomputer-readable storage medium, and/or a combinations thereof. The atleast one memory 104 and 204 may be disposed inside and/or outside theat least one processor 102 and 202. In addition, the at least one memory104 and 204 may be connected to the at least one processor 102 and 202through various techniques, such as a wired or wireless connection.

The at least one transceiver 106 and 206 may transmit user data, controlinformation, a radio signal/channel, or the like mentioned in themethods and/or operational flowcharts disclosed herein to at leastdifferent device. The at least one transceiver 106 and 206 may receiveuser data, control information, a radio signal/channel, or the likementioned in the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals,methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosed herein from at leastone different device. For example, the at least one transceiver 106 and206 may be connected to the at least one processor 102 and 202 and maytransmit and receive a radio signal. For example, the at least oneprocessor 102 and 202 may control the at least one transceiver 106 and206 to transmit user data, control information, or a radio signal to atleast one different device. In addition, the at least one processor 102and 202 may control the at least one transceiver 106 and 206 to receiveuser data, control information, or a radio signal from at least onedifferent device. The at least one transceiver 106 and 206 may beconnected to the at least one antenna 108 and 208 and may be configuredto transmit or receive user data, control information, a radiosignal/channel, or the like mentioned in the descriptions, functions,procedures, proposals, methods, and/or operational flowcharts disclosedherein through the at least one antenna 108 and 208. In this document,the at least one antenna may be a plurality of physical antennas or maybe a plurality of logical antennas (e.g., antenna ports). The at leastone transceiver 106 and 206 may convert a received radio signal/channelfrom an RF band signal into a baseband signal in order to processreceived user data, control information, a radio signal/channel, or thelike using the at least one processor 102 and 202. The at least onetransceiver 106 and 206 may convert user data, control information, aradio signal/channel, or the like, processed using the at least oneprocessor 102 and 202, from a baseband signal to an RF bad signal. Tothis end, the at least one transceiver 106 and 206 may include an(analog) oscillator and/or a filter.

Hereinafter, an example of a signal processing circuit to which thedisclosure is applied is described.

FIG. 27 illustrates a signal processing circuit for a transmissionsignal.

Referring to FIG. 27, the signal processing circuit 1000 may include ascrambler 1010, a modulator 1020, a layer mapper 1030, a precoder 1040,a resource mapper 1050, and a signal generator 1060.Operations/functions illustrated with reference to FIG. 27 may beperformed, but not limited to, in the processor 102 and 202 and/or thetransceiver 106 and 206 of FIG. 26. Hardware elements illustrated inFIG. 27 may be configured in the processor 102 and 202 and/or thetransceiver 106 and 206 of FIG. 26. For example, blocks 1010 to 1060 maybe configured in the processor 102 and 202 of FIG. 26. Alternatively,blocks 1010 to 1050 may be configured in the processor 102 and 202 ofFIG. 26, and a block 1060 may be configured in the transceiver 106 and206 of FIG. 26.

A codeword may be converted into a radio signal via the signalprocessing circuit 1000 of FIG. 27. Here, the codeword is an encoded bitsequence of an information block. The information block may include atransport block (e.g., a UL-SCH transport block and a DL-SCH transportblock). The radio signal may be transmitted through various physicalchannels (e.g., a PUSCH or a PDSCH).

Specifically, the codeword may be converted into a scrambled bitsequence by the scrambler 1010. A scrambled sequence used for scramblingis generated on the basis of an initialization value, and theinitialization value may include ID information about a wireless device.The scrambled bit sequence may be modulated into a modulation symbolsequence by the modulator 1020. A modulation scheme may includepi/2-binary phase shift keying (pi/2-BPSK), m-phase shift keying(m-PSK), m-quadrature amplitude modulation (m-QAM), and the like. Acomplex modulation symbol sequence may be mapped to at least onetransport layer by the layer mapper 1030. Modulation symbols of eachtransport layer may be mapped to a corresponding antenna port(s) by theprecoder 1040 (precoding). Output z from the precoder 1040 may beobtained by multiplying output y from the layer mapper 1030 by aprecoding matrix W of N*M, where N is the number of antenna ports, and Mis the number of transport layers. Here, the precoder 1040 may performprecoding after performing transform precoding (e.g., DFT transform) oncomplex modulation symbols. Alternatively, the precoder 1040 may performprecoding without performing transform precoding.

The resource mapper 1050 may map a modulation symbol of each antennaport to a time-frequency resource. The time-frequency resource mayinclude a plurality of symbols (e.g., CP-OFDMA symbols or DFT-s-OFDMAsymbols) in the time domain and may include a plurality of subcarriersin the frequency domain. The signal generator 1060 may generate a radiosignal from mapped modulation symbols, and the generated radio signalmay be transmitted to another device through each antenna. To this end,the signal generator 1060 may include an inverse fast Fourier transform(IFFT) module, a cyclic prefix (CP) inserter, a digital-to-analogconverter (DAC), a frequency upconverter, and the like.

A signal processing procedure for a received signal in a wireless devicemay be performed in the reverse order of the signal processing procedure1010 to 1060 of FIG. 27. For example, a wireless device (e.g., 100 and200 of FIG. 26) may receive a radio signal from the outside through anantenna port/transceiver. The received radio signal may be convertedinto a baseband signal through a signal reconstructor. To this end, thesignal reconstructor may include a frequency downconverter, ananalog-to-digital converter (ADC), a CP remover, and a fast Fouriertransform (FFT) module. The baseband signal may be reconstructed to acodeword through resource demapping, postcoding, demodulation, anddescrambling. The codeword may be reconstructed to an originalinformation block through decoding. Thus, a signal processing circuit(not shown) for a received signal may include a signal reconstructor, aresource demapper, a postcoder, a demodulator, a descrambler and adecoder.

Hereinafter, an example of utilizing a wireless device to which thedisclosure is applied is described.

FIG. 28 illustrates another example of a wireless device applied to thedisclosure. The wireless device may be configured in various formsdepending on usage/service.

Referring to FIG. 28, the wireless devices 100 and 200 may correspond tothe wireless device 100 and 200 of FIG. 26 and may include variouselements, components, units, and/or modules. For example, the wirelessdevice 100 and 200 may include a communication unit 110, a control unit120, a memory unit 130, and additional components 140. The communicationunit may include a communication circuit 112 and a transceiver(s) 114.For example, the communication circuit 112 may include the at least oneprocessor 102 and 202 and/or the at least one memory 104 and 204 of FIG.26. For example, the transceiver(s) 114 may include the at least onetransceiver 106 and 206 and/or the at least one antenna 108 and 208 ofFIG. 26. The control unit 120 is electrically connected to thecommunication unit 110, the memory unit 130, and the additionalcomponents 140 and controls overall operations of the wireless device.For example, the control unit 120 may control electrical/mechanicaloperations of the wireless device on the basis of aprogram/code/command/information stored in the memory unit 130. Inaddition, the control unit 120 may transmit information stored in thememory unit 130 to the outside (e.g., a different communication device)through a wireless/wired interface via the communication unit 110 or maystore, in the memory unit 130, information received from the outside(e.g., a different communication device) through the wireless/wiredinterface via the communication unit 110.

The additional components 140 may be configured variously depending onthe type of the wireless device. For example, the additional components140 may include at least one of a power unit/battery, an input/output(I/O) unit, a driving unit, and a computing unit. The wireless devicemay be configured, but not limited to, as a robot (100 a in FIG. 25), avehicle (100 b-1 or 100 b-2 in FIG. 25), an XR device (100 c in FIG.25), a hand-held device (100 d in FIG. 25), a home appliance (100 e inFIG. 25), an IoT device (100 f in FIG. 25), a terminal for digitalbroadcasting, a hologram device, a public safety device, an MTC device,a medical device, a fintech device (or financial device), a securitydevice, a climate/environmental device, an AI server/device (400 in FIG.25), a base station (200 in FIG. 25), a network node, or the like. Thewireless device may be mobile or may be used in a fixed place dependingon usage/service.

In FIG. 28, all of the various elements, components, units, and/ormodules in the wireless devices 100 and 200 may be connected to eachother through a wired interface, or at least some thereof may bewirelessly connected through the communication unit 110. For example,the control unit 120 and the communication unit 110 may be connected viaa cable in the wireless device 100 and 200, and the control unit 120 anda first unit (e.g., 130 and 140) may be wirelessly connected through thecommunication unit 110. In addition, each element, component, unit,and/or module in wireless device 100 and 200 may further include atleast one element. For example, the control unit 120 may include atleast one processor set. For example, the control unit 120 may beconfigured as a set of a communication control processor, an applicationprocessor, an electronic control unit (ECU), a graphics processingprocessor, a memory control processor, and the like. In another example,the memory unit 130 may include a random-access memory (RAM), a dynamicRAM (DRAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, a volatile memory,a non-volatile memory, and/or a combination thereof.

Next, an illustrative configuration of FIG. 28 is described in detailwith reference to the accompanying drawing.

Hereinafter, an example of a hand-held device to which the disclosure isapplied is described.

FIG. 29 illustrates a hand-held device applied to the disclosure. Thehand-held device may include a smartphone, a smartpad, a wearable device(e.g., a smart watch or smart glasses), and a portable computer (e.g., anotebook). The hand-held device may be referred to as a mobile station(MS), a user terminal (UT), a mobile subscriber station (MSS), asubscriber station (SS), an advanced mobile station (AMS), or a wirelessterminal (WT).

Referring to FIG. 29, the hand-held device 100 may include an antennaunit 108, a communication unit 110, a control unit 120, a memory unit130, a power supply unit 140 a, an interface unit 140 b, and aninput/output unit 140 c. The antenna unit 108 may be configured as apart of the communication unit 110. Blocks 110 to 130/140 a to 140 ccorrespond to the blocks 110 to 130/140 in FIG. 28, respectively.

The communication unit 110 may transmit and receive a signal (e.g.,data, a control signal, or the like) to and from other wireless devicesand base stations. The control unit 120 may control various componentsof the hand-held device 100 to perform various operations. The controlunit 120 may include an application processor (AP). The memory unit 130may store data/parameter/program/code/command necessary to drive thehand-held device 100. Further, the memory unit 130 may storeinput/output data/information. The power supply unit 140 a suppliespower to the hand-held device 100 and may include a wired/wirelesscharging circuit, a battery, and the like. The interface unit 140 b maysupport a connection between the hand-held device 100 and a differentexternal device. The interface unit 140 b may include various ports(e.g., an audio input/output port and a video input/output port) forconnection to an external device. The input/output unit 140 c mayreceive or output image information/signal, audio information/signal,data, and/or information input from a user. The input/output unit 140 cmay include a camera, a microphone, a user input unit, a display unit140 d, a speaker, and/or a haptic module.

For example, in data communication, the input/output unit 140 c mayobtain information/signal (e.g., a touch, text, voice, an image, and avideo) input from the user, and the obtained information/signal may bestored in the memory unit 130. The communication unit 110 may convertinformation/signal stored in the memory unit into a radio signal and maytransmit the converted radio signal directly to a different wirelessdevice or to a base station. In addition, the communication unit 110 mayreceive a radio signal from a different wireless device or the basestation and may reconstruct the received radio signal to originalinformation/signal. The reconstructed information/signal may be storedin the memory unit 130 and may then be output in various forms (e.g.,text, voice, an image, a video, and a haptic form) through theinput/output unit 140 c.

Hereinafter, an example of a vehicle or an autonomous driving vehicle towhich the disclosure is applied is described.

FIG. 30 illustrates a vehicle or an autonomous driving vehicle appliedto the disclosure. The vehicle or the autonomous driving may beconfigured as a mobile robot, a car, a train, a manned/unmanned aerialvehicle (AV), a ship, or the like.

Referring to FIG. 30, the vehicle or the autonomous driving vehicle 100may include an antenna unit 108, a communication unit 110, a controlunit 120, a driving unit 140 a, a power supply unit 140 b, a sensor unit140 c, and an autonomous driving unit 140 d. The antenna unit 108 may beconfigured as a part of the communication unit 110. Blocks 110/130/140 ato 140 d correspond to the blocks 110/130/140 in FIG. 28, respectively.

The communication unit 110 may transmit and receive a signal (e.g.,data, a control signal, or the like) to and from external devices, suchas a different vehicle, a base station (e.g. a base station, a road-sideunit, or the like), and a server. The control unit 120 may controlelements of the vehicle or the autonomous driving vehicle 100 to performvarious operations. The control unit 120 may include an electroniccontrol unit (ECU). The driving unit 140 a may enable the vehicle or theautonomous driving vehicle 100 to run on the ground. The driving unit140 a may include an engine, a motor, a power train, wheels, a brake, asteering device, and the like. The power supply unit 140 b suppliespower to the vehicle or the autonomous driving vehicle 100 and mayinclude a wired/wireless charging circuit, a battery, and the like. Thesensor unit 140 c may obtain a vehicle condition, environmentalinformation, user information, and the like. The sensor unit 140 c mayinclude an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor, a collision sensor, awheel sensor, a speed sensor, an inclination sensor, a weight sensor, aheading sensor, a position module, vehicular forward/backward visionsensors, a battery sensor, a fuel sensor, a tire sensor, a steeringsensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an ultrasonic sensor,an illuminance sensor, a pedal position sensor, and the like. Theautonomous driving unit 140 d may implement a technology for maintaininga driving lane, a technology for automatically adjusting speed, such asadaptive cruise control, a technology for automatic driving along a setroute, a technology for automatically setting a route and driving when adestination is set, and the like.

For example, the communication unit 110 may receive map data, trafficcondition data, and the like from an external server. The autonomousdriving unit 140 d may generate an autonomous driving route and adriving plan on the basis of obtained data. The control unit 120 maycontrol the driving unit 140 a to move the vehicle or the autonomousdriving vehicle 100 along the autonomous driving route according to thedriving plan (e.g., speed/direction control). During autonomous driving,the communication unit 110 may aperiodically/periodically obtain updatedtraffic condition data from the external server and may obtainsurrounding traffic condition data from a neighboring vehicle. Further,during autonomous driving, the sensor unit 140 c may obtain a vehiclecondition and environmental information. The autonomous driving unit 140d may update the autonomous driving route and the driving plan on thebasis of newly obtained data/information. The communication unit 110 maytransmit information about a vehicle location, an autonomous drivingroute, a driving plan, and the like to the external server. The externalserver may predict traffic condition data in advance using AI technologyor the like on the basis of information collected from vehicles orautonomous driving vehicles and may provide the predicted trafficcondition data to the vehicles or the autonomous driving vehicles.

Hereinafter, an example of an AI device to which the disclosure isapplied is described.

FIG. 31 illustrates an AI device applied to the disclosure. The AIdevice may be configured as a stationary device or a mobile device, suchas a TV, a projector, a smartphone, a PC, a laptop, a digitalbroadcasting terminal, a tablet PC, a wearable device, a set-top box, aradio, a washing machine, a refrigerator, digital signage, a robot, anda vehicle.

Referring to FIG. 31, the AI device 100 may include a communication unit110, a control unit 120, a memory unit 130, an input unit 140 a, anoutput unit 140 b, a learning processor unit 140 c, and a sensor unit140 d. Blocks 110 to 130/140 a to 140 d correspond to the blocks 110 to130/140 of FIG. 28, respectively.

The communication unit 110 may transmit and receive wired or wirelesssignals (e.g., sensor information, a user input, a learning mode, acontrol signal, or the like) to and from external devices, a differentAI device (e.g., 100 x, 200, or 400 in FIG. 25) or an AI server (e.g.,400 in FIG. 25) using wired or wireless communication technologies. Tothis end, the communication unit 110 may transmit information in thememory unit 130 to an external device or may transmit a signal receivedfrom the external device to the memory unit 130.

The control unit 120 may determine at least one executable operation ofthe AI device 100 on the basis of information determined or generatedusing a data analysis algorithm or a machine-learning algorithm. Thecontrol unit 120 may control components of the AI device 100 to performthe determined operation. For example, the control unit 120 may request,retrieve, receive, or utilize data of the learning processor unit 140 cor the memory unit 130 and may control components of the AI device 100to perform a predicted operation or an operation determined to bepreferable among the at least one executable operation. The control unit120 may collect history information including details about an operationof the AI device 100 or a user's feedback on the operation and may storethe history information in the memory unit 130 or the learning processorunit 140 c or may transmit the history information to an externaldevice, such as the AI server (400 in FIG. 25). The collected historyinformation may be used to update a learning model.

The memory unit 130 may store data for supporting various functions ofthe AI device 100. For example, the memory unit 130 may store dataobtained from the input unit 140 a, data obtained from the communicationunit 110, output data from the learning processor unit 140 c, and dataobtained from the sensing unit 140. Further, the memory unit 130 maystore control information and/or a software code necessary for theoperation/execution of the control unit 120.

The input unit 140 a may obtain various types of data from the outsideof the AI device 100. For example, the input unit 140 a may obtainlearning data for model learning and input data to which a learningmodel is applied. The input unit 140 a may include a camera, amicrophone, and/or a user input unit. The output unit 140 b may generatevisual, auditory, or tactile output. The output unit 140 b may include adisplay unit, a speaker, and/or a haptic module. The sensing unit 140may obtain at least one of internal information about the AI device 100,environmental information about the AI device 100, and user informationusing various sensors. The sensing unit 140 may include a proximitysensor, an illuminance sensor, an acceleration sensor, a magneticsensor, a gyro sensor, an inertial sensor, an RGB sensor, an IR sensor,a fingerprint sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an optical sensor, amicrophone, and/or a radar.

The learning processor unit 140 c may train a model including artificialneural networks using learning data. The learning processor unit 140 cmay perform AI processing together with a learning processor unit of anAI server (400 in FIG. 25). The learning processor unit 140 c mayprocess information received from an external device through thecommunication unit 110 and/or information stored in the memory unit 130.In addition, an output value from the learning processor unit 140 c maybe transmitted to an external device through the communication unit 110and/or may be stored in the memory unit 130.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for determining an availability of aresource in a wireless communication system, the method performed by acommunication node and comprising: receiving synchronization signalblock (SSB) configuration information, wherein the SSB configurationinformation informs a SSB transmission resource on which thecommunication node is capable of transmitting a SSB, receiving resourceconfiguration information, wherein the resource configurationinformation informs a link direction and an availability of a timeresource of the communication node, where the time resource is relatedto a link between the communication node and a child node of thecommunication node, and determining an availability of a specificresource which is included in both of the time resource and the SSBtransmission resource based on the SSB configuration and the resourceconfiguration information, wherein the availability of the specificresource is determined as being always available.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the communication node transmits a downlink signal on thespecific resource.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the downlink signalis the SSB.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the specific resource is aresource of which a link direction is configured to downlink based onthe resource configuration information.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the specific resource is a resource of which an availability isconfigured to be controlled by a parent node of the communication nodebased on the resource configuration information.
 6. The method of claim5, wherein the availability of the specific resource is controlled bydownlink control information (DCI) transmitted by the parent node to thecommunication node.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the communicationnode re-configures a link direction of the specific resource, and thelink direction of the specific resource is re-configured to downlink. 8.The method of claim 7, wherein the time resource is a resource of whichthe link direction is configured to downlink, uplink, or flexible basedon the resource configuration information.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the availability of the time resource is one of alwaysavailable, unavailable, and availability configured to be controlled bya parent node of the communication node based on the resourceconfiguration information.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein theresource configuration information is transmitted through systeminformation or a radio resource control (RRC) message.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the SSB is at least one of a backhaul SSB and an accessSSB.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the SSB transmission resource isperiodically configured in a time domain.
 13. The method of claim 1,wherein the communication node is an integrated access and backhaul(IAB) node comprising a base station and a user equipment (UE).
 14. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the specific resource is a resource in slots.15. A communication node comprising: at least one memory configured tostore instructions; at least one transceiver; and at least one processorto connect the at least one memory and the at least one transceiver,wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute theinstructions to: receive synchronization signal block (SSB)configuration information, wherein the SSB configuration informationinforms a SSB transmission resource on which the communication node iscapable of transmitting a SSB, receive resource configurationinformation, wherein the resource configuration information informs alink direction and an availability of a time resource of thecommunication node, where the time resource is related to a link betweenthe communication node and a child node of the communication node, anddetermine an availability of a specific resource which is included inboth of the time resource and the SSB transmission resource based on theSSB configuration and the resource configuration information, whereinthe availability of the specific resource is determined as being alwaysavailable.
 16. The communication node of claim 15, wherein thecommunication node is configured to communicate with at least one of amobile terminal, a network, and an autonomous driving vehicle other thanthe communication node.
 17. An apparatus configured to control acommunication node, the apparatus comprising: at least one processor;and at least one memory configured to be operatively connected to the atleast one processor and to store instructions, wherein the at least oneprocessor is configured to execute the instructions to: receivesynchronization signal block (SSB) configuration information, whereinthe SSB configuration information informs a SSB transmission resource onwhich the communication node is capable of transmitting a SSB, receiveresource configuration information, wherein the resource configurationinformation informs a link direction and an availability of a timeresource of the communication node, where the time resource is relatedto a link between the communication node and a child node of thecommunication node, and determine an availability of a specific resourcewhich is included in both of the time resource and the SSB transmissionresource based on the SSB configuration and the resource configurationinformation, wherein the availability of the specific resource isdetermined as being always available.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17,wherein the communication node is configured to communicate with atleast one of a mobile terminal, a network, and an autonomous drivingvehicle other than the communication node.